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The Bowerbird: A funny and heartwarming rhyming story about love and kindness from the author of The Gruffalo
The irresistible tale of Bert - a small bird with a very big heart, from Number One bestselling Julia Donaldson and Kate Greenaway Medal-winning Catherine Rayner. Read by Jason Donovan.
Bert the bowerbird is looking for love. He has made the most perfect nest, complete with a pretty purple flower, and is hoping it will help him to meet the bird of his dreams. But when the demanding Nanette comes along, she is far from impressed. Poor Bert is hurt, and flies off to bring her presents a-plenty. But will it ever be enough, and is Nanette really worthy of sweet Bert's love?
A beautifully narrated treat of an audiobook from the creators of The Go-Away Bird.
Bert the bowerbird is looking for love. He has made the most perfect nest, complete with a pretty purple flower, and is hoping it will help him to meet the bird of his dreams. But when the demanding Nanette comes along, she is far from impressed. Poor Bert is hurt, and flies off to bring her presents a-plenty. But will it ever be enough, and is Nanette really worthy of sweet Bert's love?
A beautifully narrated treat of an audiobook from the creators of The Go-Away Bird.
Audible Audio
Published March 30, 2023
About the author
Julia Donaldson
1,238 books2,007 followersGrowing up
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).
Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.
I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.
Busking and books
Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.
The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.
I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.
One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.
My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.
I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.
Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers.
When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).
Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.
I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.
Busking and books
Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.
The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.
I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.
One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.
My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.
I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.
Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers.
When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
Read
March 6, 2025She's Just Not That Into You, for birds
March 15, 2026
My Auntie Yaya introduced me to Julia Donaldson and now my whole family loves her books! My Nan found this one at the library for me and I was so excited because I hadn’t read it yet. The rhymes were so fun to read and the illustrations were beautiful. A real gem!!
February 19, 2025
3.5
Lovely, lovely illustrations. The story itself is funny and sweet, but I'm not sure it's the most engaging for a younger audience (would not read in story time!). Slightly older kids may understand the humor better.
Lovely, lovely illustrations. The story itself is funny and sweet, but I'm not sure it's the most engaging for a younger audience (would not read in story time!). Slightly older kids may understand the humor better.
Read
February 5, 2025One of the few times in my life I feel bad for a male (Bert).
October 15, 2024
This is beautiful. I love Bert, he is so cute. I love the illustrations and the writing here. Really well done. Happy about the happy ending too. You didn't need that other bird Bert.
September 3, 2025
The story is adorable, the illustrations lovely, but I loved the fact that this is based on a real (and quite interesting) bird. Made for fun talking point with my 3.5 year old but it’s one we could revisit.
April 12, 2026
Beautiful story, it almost made me cry! My daughter loved it as well and we both liked the art 🥰
August 19, 2024
Wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but the cover is super cute so I thought I'd give it a try.
Not going to lie, it broke my heart a little to go through this with the Bowerbird. All he wants is a wife, and tries to impress one with a pretty flower. But the female bird who saw his offering was NOT impressed. She kept asking for more and more, until he has a pile of treasures that she still says is not good enough! Bowerbird then gets tricked to go find something precious, that isn't actually there - the other bird just wanted to take all the treasures he's gathered. When Bowerbird finally returns from his failed mission, everything has been taken except the flower. And worse than that, his unimpressed girlfriend has moved in with another bird - AND all of Bowerbird's gifts!
Bowerbird feels brokenhearted and hopeless (and so did I!!), until a lady bowerbird comes over and tells him how beautiful his flower is. Then she moves in with him - and I can only assume they live happily ever after.
A heart-wrenching lesson with a happy ending. Never hurt yourself trying to impress someone who doesn't understand or respect you. When the right people come along, they will love you as you are, even if somebody else didn't. Perhaps a reminder we could all use.
Not going to lie, it broke my heart a little to go through this with the Bowerbird. All he wants is a wife, and tries to impress one with a pretty flower. But the female bird who saw his offering was NOT impressed. She kept asking for more and more, until he has a pile of treasures that she still says is not good enough! Bowerbird then gets tricked to go find something precious, that isn't actually there - the other bird just wanted to take all the treasures he's gathered. When Bowerbird finally returns from his failed mission, everything has been taken except the flower. And worse than that, his unimpressed girlfriend has moved in with another bird - AND all of Bowerbird's gifts!
Bowerbird feels brokenhearted and hopeless (and so did I!!), until a lady bowerbird comes over and tells him how beautiful his flower is. Then she moves in with him - and I can only assume they live happily ever after.
A heart-wrenching lesson with a happy ending. Never hurt yourself trying to impress someone who doesn't understand or respect you. When the right people come along, they will love you as you are, even if somebody else didn't. Perhaps a reminder we could all use.
August 19, 2024
Wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but the cover is super cute so I thought I'd give it a try.
Not going to lie, it broke my heart a little to go through this with the Bowerbird. All he wants is a wife, and tries to impress one with a pretty flower. But the female bird who saw his offering was NOT impressed. She kept asking for more and more, until he has a pile of treasures that she still says is not good enough! Bowerbird then gets tricked to go find something precious, that isn't actually there - the other bird just wanted to take all the treasures he's gathered. When Bowerbird finally returns from his failed mission, everything has been taken except the flower. And worse than that, his unimpressed girlfriend has moved in with another bird - AND all of Bowerbird's gifts!
Bowerbird feels brokenhearted and hopeless (and so did I!!), until a lady bowerbird comes over and tells him how beautiful his flower is. Then she moves in with him - and I can only assume they live happily ever after.
A heart-wrenching lesson with a happy ending. Never hurt yourself trying to impress someone who doesn't understand or respect you. When the right people come along, they will love you as you are, even if somebody else didn't. Perhaps a reminder we could all use.
Not going to lie, it broke my heart a little to go through this with the Bowerbird. All he wants is a wife, and tries to impress one with a pretty flower. But the female bird who saw his offering was NOT impressed. She kept asking for more and more, until he has a pile of treasures that she still says is not good enough! Bowerbird then gets tricked to go find something precious, that isn't actually there - the other bird just wanted to take all the treasures he's gathered. When Bowerbird finally returns from his failed mission, everything has been taken except the flower. And worse than that, his unimpressed girlfriend has moved in with another bird - AND all of Bowerbird's gifts!
Bowerbird feels brokenhearted and hopeless (and so did I!!), until a lady bowerbird comes over and tells him how beautiful his flower is. Then she moves in with him - and I can only assume they live happily ever after.
A heart-wrenching lesson with a happy ending. Never hurt yourself trying to impress someone who doesn't understand or respect you. When the right people come along, they will love you as you are, even if somebody else didn't. Perhaps a reminder we could all use.
April 12, 2023
This latest book by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Catherine Rayner is a joy from start to finish ; comedic , entertaining but also builds up a huge sense of warmth and care towards the Bower bIrd. The young Bower bird is trying to attract a partner into his nest by building up a collect.ion of stolen items ; unfortunately the attention of his desires is fickle and not satisfied and with a twist of fate his path takes a new course. As ever Julia Donaldson’s prose is an absolute delight - perfect for all young readers and parents and careers too. Wonderful vocabulary and lovely big hearted tale. Catherine Rayner’s bring a true delight - adding to the humour and also the emotions.
A wonderful book which I will fully recommend to teachers in KS1 as well as family and friends. Magical and moving
A wonderful book which I will fully recommend to teachers in KS1 as well as family and friends. Magical and moving
April 22, 2025
The illustrations of these birds and their environment are so beautifully rendered, but too bad the story is so sullied with sexism. It’s one thing to observe avian behavior and quite another to make inappropriate anthropomorphic comparisons to humans, such as calling the female bird “haughty” or “proud” because it does not mate with the male. Does it matter that they are different species? Apparently not. Are male birds “hurt” because their courting behaviors are unsuccessful in attracting a mate? No, they just make bigger displays until they are successful, which is hardly big-hearted. The story’s underlying messages about the nature of human male-female relationships, gender roles, and courtship seem to be so last century.
January 21, 2025
Aww poor Bert. This bowerbird tries so hard to win the love of a woman who is clearly a snob and doesn't deserve him.
It was so sad the way all his things were stolen.
But he got the right girl in the end :)
Such a cute story, with lots of opportunities for discussion with a young reader about bowerbirds, the things they collect, doing something to please someone else who doesn't deserve it and finding the right people for you.
It was so sad the way all his things were stolen.
But he got the right girl in the end :)
Such a cute story, with lots of opportunities for discussion with a young reader about bowerbirds, the things they collect, doing something to please someone else who doesn't deserve it and finding the right people for you.
July 22, 2025
OH MY HEART. I really felt for the bird. Wonderful illustrations.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
My heart was so sad for the bird and I just knew the crow (at least I think it was a crow) would steal the things because crows love interesting things. I had a feeling Nanette wouldn't end up with Bert and I'm glad she didn't. She didn't deserve him. Jean is perfect however! I love her and I love Bert and Jean together. Lovely ending.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
My heart was so sad for the bird and I just knew the crow (at least I think it was a crow) would steal the things because crows love interesting things. I had a feeling Nanette wouldn't end up with Bert and I'm glad she didn't. She didn't deserve him. Jean is perfect however! I love her and I love Bert and Jean together. Lovely ending.
August 8, 2025
Julia Donaldson sure knows how to rhyme.
This is a book about bowerbird courtship. Bert builds a bower to attract a wife, but the first female he encounters, Nanette, scoffs at his bower. He tries to jazz it up for her, but then another bird, Claude, tricks him, steals his bower decorations, and partners with Nanette! Dang! Luckily, Bert meets a much nicer girl bird who happily moves into his bower with him.
This is a book about bowerbird courtship. Bert builds a bower to attract a wife, but the first female he encounters, Nanette, scoffs at his bower. He tries to jazz it up for her, but then another bird, Claude, tricks him, steals his bower decorations, and partners with Nanette! Dang! Luckily, Bert meets a much nicer girl bird who happily moves into his bower with him.
August 1, 2024
We have jokes in our house about Julia
We say she’s written every childrens book and that our sons first phrase will be “Julia Donaldson”
But the lady has range and this book really showcases her talent
An excellent book: well written, fun to read and quite a sweet story about love and finding someone who appreciates the simple things
We say she’s written every childrens book and that our sons first phrase will be “Julia Donaldson”
But the lady has range and this book really showcases her talent
An excellent book: well written, fun to read and quite a sweet story about love and finding someone who appreciates the simple things
May 22, 2025
I love bowerbirds! My introduction to them was in The Evolution of Beauty by Richard Prum (definitely not a book for kids), so I was excited to see them in a picture book! The cute (and pretty accurate) illustrations and the message of connecting with those who accept you (rather than what you can give them) are great for all ages.
May 10, 2023
This is such a beautiful book which immediately filled my head with teaching ideas. The rhyming is very clever and I think kids would love learning about real bowerbirds after reading this. A gorgeous picture book!
November 29, 2023
Een mooi boek over een prieelvogel en zijn zoektocht naar een vrouwtje! Arme Jos, ik wist al meteen dat die ene vogel gewoon naar zijn uiterlijk zat te kijken in plaats van naar hoe lief hij was. Leuke illustraties.
February 18, 2026
I am not a big audio listener but i came across this lovely gem on library borrow box narrated by Jason Donovan for only 7 mins and really enjoyed it even more so that i am absolutely scared of birds so i am glad i didnt have the illustrations to look at.
May 10, 2023
Fantastic option of a nature study living book for toddlers for any Charlotte Mason fans out there. Factual and cute story. Toddler Boys enjoyed it.
July 7, 2023
This book made me feel sad and I felt it ended a bit too abruptly, not giving us the opportunity to see Bert happy with his new love interest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2024
Adorable graphics and story
August 3, 2024
As a childless 30-something, I should not have been so invested in the outcome of this story, but I absolutely was. Team Bert!
October 17, 2024
The illustrations are just wonderful.
You know what, Bert? You're too good for Nanette!
You know what, Bert? You're too good for Nanette!
February 20, 2025
beautful book - with good message for young children
March 27, 2025
Super sweet, lovely illustrations, great read-aloud rhythm. I could totally see this being a new classic.
March 30, 2025
Pretty sweet.
April 17, 2025
This book made me so sad for Bert. I loved the rhymes but until the last page I was just furious at Nanette and then Claude too. I wish I could’ve read more pages about Bert and Jean.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2025
This birb is me. Knocked off a star for some issues with the meter, but overall a cute and heartfelt book.
June 18, 2025
Bert the bowerbird, tries his hardest to woo Nanette. But when another male bird steals his nest, Bert gives up, and that might be just what he needs to woo a wife!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews