Early Bird: A Picture Book

by Toni Yuly

Early Bird wakes up before the sun. She is hungry. What will she have for breakfast?

With language that emphasizes action words, this is a fun story for morning, nighttime, any time.

Genres: Picture Books, Birds, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2014

About the author

Toni Yuly is the author-illustrator of the picture books Early Bird, Night Owl, and Cat Nap. After many years as a librarian, she now dedicates herself to designing, painting, and writing all day. Toni Yuly lives in Bremerton, Washington.

Reviews

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a librarian who actually is writing for children and not for her fellow hipsters at "Kids Lit Drink Night." This book is perfectly pitched at preschoolers--at my 2 and up program it was a big hit with both adults and children. Simple enough for the little listeners, visual cues and concept words for older children,delightful art and a just right ending. Sweet without saccharine. Well done!

[Lorellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming picture book that ends splendidly for worm and bird.

[Margaret]

The number three is commonly found in folklore. As a storytelling technique it supplies a cadence to the narrative. Listeners and readers seem to gravitate to this rhythm as if it's wired into their DNA passed on from generation to generation.

Believing good things come in threes, the three most recent years have provided younger readers with a trio of charming titles. Early Bird (Feiwel And Friends, January 28, 2014), Night Owl (Feiwel And Friends, January 27, 2015 and Cat Nap (Feiwel And Friends, January 26, 2016) all written and illustrated by Toni Yuly draw readers' attention to a single character in each book. Within their stories each reveals a surprise.


My full recommendation: http://librariansquest.blogspot.com/2...

[June · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not one for soft, retellings. If you don't like the message of a folktale or saying don't use it. I think many children are over protected and that it does not help them. One of life's lesson it that life is not fair. Pretending that birds don't eat worms or can be their friends to me is only going to warp a child's world view.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bright, simple, fun illustrations follow a very active Early Bird as he travels across, through, over and under and more on his search for the Early Worm, with whom he shares breakfast. This is a fun action story for toddlers.

[Franki Sibberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for new readers, baby gift, plot structure--a fun surprise at the end! Love the illustrations.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, snappy fun with a nice little surprise.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple, bright illustrations and a cute twist at the end.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story about an early rising bird out looking for breakfast. Yoon incorporates prepositions of movement seamlessly into the story - and the surprise ending is delightfully yummy.

[Kristen Hylton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun choice for storytime! It was fun to have the kids all stand up tall and take a nice, deep breath with the early bird to start us out and get us ready to listen to a story. The kids enjoyed pointing out all the little bugs the bird was passing on her way--ladybugs, bees, butterflies, a spider! I asked the kids to tell me if they could remember seeing any of these insects (and spider!) before, and where, and what color they were, to help them connect real life experiences to the art in the book. (One little kid said she doesn't like spiders, but she helps pick up the little ones to carry them outside and her daddy gets the big ones 'cause those are scary.)

When I asked the kids what they thought the bird might do with the worm, they all thought it'd eat the worm! It was fun to see how delighted and surprised they were when the bird instead shared a strawberry breakfast with the worm.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story about an early bird looking for breakfast. Lots of good illustrations featuring location prepositions that are easily understood from the illustration. However, the actual illustration for the breakfast seems to be backwards with the way the strawberry disappears, to goes from right to left and my eyes want it to go from left to right.

Somehow Goodreads won't allow me to also review the board book version of this. So here it is. I thought I would prefer the board book edition. However, I found that the colors are just a shade darker in the illustrations. And there is a white fence illustration with a butterfly. That butterfly is in a different position in the board book edition. What's up with that?

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to use this book in a library activity with the pre-k and kindergarteners at school. What draws me in is the idea that I can easily pair movements with what is happening on each page. Instead of just reading "She stands as tall as she can," I can stretch myself out like the bird is doing and ask the kids to show how they would stand as tall as they can. I love the idea of a story where kids can be active as it is read to them. This story provides that opportunity and it is just short enough that I'm not taxing their ability to stay focused for too long. The story is almost beside the point. If I want to teach them about birds, there are plenty of other books I can use. This one is about making reading time playful.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary
Early Bird wakes up before the sun. She is hungry. What will she have for breakfast? With language that emphasizes action words, this is a fun story for morning, nighttime, any time.

Notes
Toni Yuly has been an early bird all her life, and loves to start the day in the studio listening to other early birds sing outside her window. She was born in Seattle and now lives in Bremerton, Washington, in a small house by the water. She studied painting at the University of Washington, where she worked with the great American painter Jacob Lawrence. In addition to making art, Toni works in the King County library system. Early Bird is her first book for children.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm becoming a fan of Toni Yuly's picture books. The poster-style art, the large simple text, and the every-day sort of adventures are perfectly suit the little ones they are designed for.

This story uses a lot of prepositions, such as "across", "through", "under", "up", "around", and "over". Themes to explore include "spring", "summer", "morning routines", "birds", "insects/bugs", "flowers", "cats", "worms", and "strawberries".

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt a little short for our 1-book toddler storytime, but I think it would be fantastic for a storytime where more than one book is used. The pictures are large and clear, meaning it would work well even for babies, and the prepositions used (over, through, under, etc.) make it fun to move along with.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Early Bird wakes early to go on a journey. She's looking for the Early Worm and breakfast. Cute and quick story about a bird and worm.

Reviewed from a library copy.

2017 storytime theme: Build a Better World - Fences

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early bird wakes up and ventures around. Fun for prepositional phrases (over, around, through, under...though some of them I can't think of how to act out). At the end, she finds the early worm and they enjoy eating strawberries together. Haha, surprise ending.

[Pug · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet book. Such a cute little bird, going on simple little bird adventures.
It could have turned dark there for a second, when he finds the worm. But fortunately, they decided to become friends, and together share a strawberry for breakfast. :)

[Casandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storytime book!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby CC loves this book. The colors are bright, the illustrations are simple and engaging. A lovely read-aloud for little little ones. We have the board book version and it translates well.

[Marissa Kiddey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cut spin on the saying, 'the early bird gets the worm'. Illustrations are clean and sharp. Shapes used are good for younger students and words are large and emphasized well.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vibrant colors with an unexpected ending.

[Michelle Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Themes: sharing, kindness

[Jdonahou]

Well liked by children

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple and gentle book with an unlikely friendship. The illustrations are bright a bold.

[Jenny]

3.75

[Madison Perian · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5

[Emily]

A prepositional phrase book!

[Aleta · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sweet! Simple, cute illustrations, and a surprise ending. I read it for Storytime, and kids and moms seemed to like it.