Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Nico is nervous on his first day of school, and the reactions of the other kids don’t help much.  At recess, Nico’s not into sports or gossiping with friends, preferring to sit still and watch bugs crawling across the asphalt and the birds that gather around him.  When kids start calling him Bird Boy, Nico knows they’re making fun of him, but he embraces the name, imagining himself as an eagle, or a penguin, or a hummingbird.  Slowly, he makes a couple of friends, as some of the kids start to notice Nico’s kindness and vivid imagination.  At recess, playing on the swings with his new friends, Nico sometimes feels like he really can fly.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A beautiful book with a great “be yourself” message that will appeal to introverts and others who sometimes feel like they don’t fit into the mainstream.

Cons:  It seemed like a teacher or other adult could have provided some intervention with the name calling instead of letting Nico deal with it on his own.