Wings

by Cheryl B. Klein, Tomie dePaola (Illustrator)

Debut picture book author Cheryl B. Klein and Caldecott Honor winner Tomie dePaola sweetly capture a baby bird’s journey to first flight.

Wings!
Clings.
Flings…

With a cleverly simple rhyme and playful, vibrant artwork, Cheryl B. Klein and Tomie dePaola lovingly paint the picture of a baby bird’s first flight—overcoming stings and dings along the way to soar triumphantly.

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

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2019

About the author

Cheryl B. Klein is the author of The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults, and three children's picture books: Wings, illustrated by Tomie DePaola; Thunder Trucks, cowritten with Katy Beebe and illustrated by Mike Boldt; and A Year of Everyday Wonders, illustrated by Qin Leng. In 2011, she self-published Second Sight: An Editor's Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults (now out of print). All her books draw extensively on her two decades of experience as an editor in children's and YA publishing. Among the books she has edited or co-edited are When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, winner of the Stonewall Book Award; The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas; Front Desk by Kelly Yang; The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book; the New York Times bestselling Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older; A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, winner of the William C. Morris YA Debut Award; Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for Teens; The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg, winner of the Stonewall Award for YA Fiction; The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb, winner of the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award; and The Snow Day by Komako Sakai, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. Cheryl has edited translations from six different languages, and she also served as the US continuity editor on the last two books of the Harry Potter series. She presently works as the editorial director at Lee & Low Books.

Since 2005, Cheryl has maintained a website for writers at http://www.cherylklein.com. Follow her on social media at @chavelaque.

Reviews

[Cheryl Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this, and I'm proud of my work here, but the real genius of this book is Tomie dePaola. He used Avery labels and markers to make Matisse-quality cut-paper collages full of personality, energy, and verve, bringing my little bird to vibrant life. May we all have so much energy and creativity forty years into our bookmaking careers! Thank you, Tomie.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tomie DePaola illustrates this book with great panache, and Avery full-sheet labels, markers, and acrylics. There are a total of twelve words in this book, and all of them rhyme with "wings." And each word appears by itself on a page. Tomie brings those words to life with the antics of the baby bird who is learning to fly. Clever, interesting, and not Tomie's usual art style.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the clever rhyming of the single words that make up the pages of this story of a little fledgling leaving the nest for the first time . . .





I love the lush artwork that looks like Ed Emberley and Eric Carle had a baby, but it's actually by . . . you'll never guess - Tomie dePaola!



but most of all, I LOVE the exuberance of this book!



Happy flying, everybody!

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning to overcome all the problems that prevent you from spreading your wings to fly - beautiful art!

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

A good book for talking about rhymes. Every page spread has only one word (that rhymes with "wing") the illustrates a bird falling out of the tree, then getting back up and learning to fly. Illustrations are very springy.

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures were lovely!

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This simple rhyming book is really lovely due to DePaola’s gorgeous illustration.

[Joyful · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t care for this one, but the artwork is pretty.

[IvyInThePages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 leaves out of 5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Children
Type: Book
Worth?: Yeah

[Chance Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute pictures and simple rhyming text. Leaving a lot to the imagination makes the story feel more dramatic and engaging.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/2/2919 ~ Vibrant. Perfect for spring. And don’t we all have a pet who proudly brings you things they’ve found?

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This super-simple picture book soars as a baby bird leaves the nest for the first time. Told only in rhyming single words, the story is about wings, flings, stings, dings and eventually sings, rings and zings! A baby bird tentatively heads to the edge of the nest and then flings themselves off. They land in a puddle on the ground. Drying off and checking for damage, they discover a worm on the ground. That inspires them to try to head back up to the nest to deliver the food to their siblings. But can they actually fly?

The simplicity of the book belies the skill that it took to create an actual story arc with so few words. The book works well with the bulk of the tale told in the illustrations by a master artist. DePaola has created bright and cheery artwork to accompany the story. Filled with pinks, blues and yellows, the vibrant colors bring a lot of life to the book.

Use this one when teaching about rhymes. It is just right for toddler audiences. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated by the wonderful Tomie dePaola, this simple adventure story by author Cheryl Klein is a really lovely story told in words that all rhyme. Sure to delight young ones from babies to toddlers.

[Sara Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright and lovely.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wings by Cheryl B. Klein, illustrated by Tomie dePaola. PICTURE BOOK. Atheneum (Simon), 2019 $18. 9781534405103

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Baby bird is ready for its first flight. the book explores all that baby bird experiences during first flight in few words and vibrant illustrations.

This was an easy read with great illustrations to emphasize the actions. I liked it. Young children just learning to read would greatly enjoy this as their first read on their own. I loved the illustrations, the colors and feelings conveyed in the text and illustrations.

Ellen-Anita, Librarian
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Mary Louise Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wings is bound to be a classic for many reasons. This is a mentor text to show the elements of story--plot, tension, word choice. The art enhances the story and shows what a picture book is! Doctor Seuss proved he could write a book with few rhyming words and now Cheryl B. Klein has outdown him. I'll bet we see come copycat attempts to write short books like this from other authors. This may be a child's first read-alone book, but adults will also welcome rereading this short book to the children in their lives.

This book will soar!

[Great Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a delightful way to introduce the wonder of spring through the beautifully illustrated birds. The author Cheryl B. Klein also introduces the fun of rhyming the words throughout the book, starting with WINGS and moving page by page with words that rhyme until we get to SPRING. The illustrator Tomie dePaola keeps every reader's and child's attention with the beautiful illustrations and great choice of colors.

This would be a great first book of rhymes, a wonderfully illustrated book and a terrific first readers book. It would also be a great board book!

Reviewer 1

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

"That was it? Wow! That's the shortest book we've ever read! Can we read it every day?"
My five-year-old was eager to be able to check off her school goal of reading a book together every day, though I wasn't as thrilled that this is why she gave the book a very positive review. I really appreciate the collaged style and the hot pink determined bird in this book, though the simple words that rhyme throughout challenge readers to slow down and take in the story together in different ways. I'm not sure if we fully succeeded, but this was a sweet book and a great read for preschoolers.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrific book to share during the spring season. With simple text - there's one word on each page and all of the words rhyme - and beautiful, collage illustrations in bright colors, young readers can celebrate a baby bird's first flight. Young readers also get to see that there is magnificent imperfection in all of nature's firsts, and yet one shouldn't be discouraged. This would be a great book to encourage a growth mindset.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spread your wings! Fly fledgling! Splat!!!! It does, in fact, begin cautiously and end with joy. Klein and dePaola team up to create delightful art and simple language that will appeal to the youngest child, and eventually be a book emmergent readers can handle on their own - if they don't memorize it first. This would make a beautiful board book.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning work. I had no idea that Tomie dePaola had moved into mixed media, but I hope he continues to experiment in this medium. A colleague remarked that "not many words, but it doesn't need them with illustrations like this." Truth.

[Sarah Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bright colors and few words, this would be perfect for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. A baby bird learns to fly. Text is minimal with one word per page, all rhyming with "wings."

[Kelly]

This was a cute book. Only the last page did I think was a stretch. All the words rhyme with Wings. The illustrations were simple but nice.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for preschool today. Very cute, spring-like, with few words.

[pati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very simply done, but eye candy to say the least - this book makes my heart sing!

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are charming and the rhyming text is fun

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple one word rhymes per page, but a great story told.

[Dana Storytime Account · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the illustrations in this book and it seems like a fun spring book for little ones, I normally prefer a little more words in books especially since I work with slightly older kids.

[Aliza Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming words with “wings” and onomatopoeia.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uses only ing words to convey the story love the bold big illustrations.