Review of The Bird Ride

[Sarah Schmidt]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Bird Ride" by Wade W. Bergner.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Bird Ride is an educative children’s book written by Wade W. Bergner. It is the first book in the Emotional Agility series, teaching its young audience about shifting their awareness and dealing with their feelings.

Wade, a young boy, is passing his Sunday morning as he usually does—playing with his toy cars in the yard. A remarkable occurrence soon changes that. A blue Bird, wild and unafraid, approaches the boy, and the two form a connection that goes beyond the ordinary. Wade is shrunken down to his new friend’s size, invited to climb aboard for a new experience. They take to the skies, observing the world below from a bird’s eye view. Wade sees colours and feels energy around the people on the ground, who look like mere specks from his vantage point. He begins to understand the questions the different colours give rise to through observation and the Bird’s quiet mentorship.

The Bird Ride teaches readers about the power of unconditional love. I liked the message of the story. The aim is accomplished by placing oneself in a smaller body, giving literal meaning to the idiom ‘bird’s eye view’, fostering a type of perspective shift in which one can see the world at large. Wade ‘lets go’, and in doing so, he sees that stress and fear inevitably create a dark cloud of unhappiness. By contrast, in observing a girl and her pet dog, he sees how positive energy overflows when free of demanding expectations. He ponders the differences in the two by weighing the whys of each. Bergner also pairs his lessons with discussion questions at the end of the story, providing an interactive medium for readers.

With simple, uncluttered illustrations by Galia Labowitz, this book successfully grabs and retains readers’ attention. Some of the words used may need an adult’s supervision in breaking down, but it’s a doable challenge for children in order to advance their vocabulary. I found only two errors in the text, so I assume that this book has been professionally edited.

I rate The Bird Ride 4 out of 4 stars. There was nothing to dislike about this book, making it well deserving of a perfect score. I recommend this book to parents or guardians interested in developing the emotional intelligence of their young charges or to those looking for simple educative material. This book can also serve as a quick naptime read. I do not think readers who enjoy books that lean more on the heavily adventurous side would prefer this book.

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The Bird Ride
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