Fly!

by Mark Teague

“Teague proves that a picture can be worth a thousand words—and almost as many laughs.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Engaging illustrations and the baby bird’s wild ideas will entertain audiences of all ages.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Funny, feathery finesse.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Mama bird thinks it’s time for Baby bird’s first flight, but Baby bird has other ideas in this humorous wordless picture book from New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Mark Teague.

It’s a big day up in the tree that Mama bird shares with her baby. Mama bird thinks Baby bird is finally ready to leave the nest and learn to fly so he can migrate south with the rest of their flock. But Baby bird isn’t so sure. Can’t his mother keep bringing him worms in their nest? Can’t he migrate in a hot air balloon instead? Or perhaps a car?

This silly wordless picture book will keep young readers giggling as Baby bird figures out that he must flap his wings and learn to fly—whether he likes it or not!

Genres: Picture Books, Birds, Humor, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Family

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 17, 2019

About the author

Mark Teague has delighted young readers with more than 20 picture books, and he has written many of them himself, including the popular Pigsty, Baby Tamer, and One Halloween Night. He is also the illustrator of Cynthia Rylant's beloved Poppleton series for beginning readers and the best-selling books by Jane Yolen, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight and How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon.

Mark Teague's life changed when he moved from San Diego to New York City and he planted the seed for his first picture book, The Trouble with the Johnsons. Each of Teague's books start as "notebooks full of sketches and scribbles, strange little drawings and phrases that suddenly come together," Teague explains. And although he had no formal writing training, his endless imagination and understanding nature gives him a permanent place in the hearts of everyone.

Mark and his wife live in Coxsackie, New York, with their young daughter Lily, who has a great time watching her dad paint the pictures in his books.

Reviews

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A baby bird. A mama bird. It's time for Baby to take wing, and Mama is more than ready to be off to sunnier skies. But Baby would prefer to envision easier ways of making its way through the world....

Mark Teague has created a captivating story in this wordless picture book. It is an ideal introduction to point of view and characterization and making inferences in the classroom. It's so full of fun that every child will want to "read" it again and again.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lush, detailed acrylic illustration tell the story of a young bird who will say anything (in this story, entirely in pictures) to get out of learning how to fly.

[Ashley Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby bird would rather think of a thousand other ways to travel than to actually take a flying leap. In a wordless book Mark Teague still manages to tell a really engaging story.

[Karrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute wordless book, but just didn’t capture me in heart or head.

[Brandon Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is the delightful Fly! by Mark Teague, a wordless tale of a baby bird learning to leave the nest.

In a cozy nest perched in a tree, a baby robin grows from a pink, featherless hatchling to a robust fledgling as its father dutifully feeds it worms. When the time comes for the little birdy to spread its wings, the father encourages his little one to try hopping out onto the tree’s branch. Frustrated, the chick does so… only to tumble to the ground below. Winging down to his child, the father notes that the little bird must fly up on their own, as he cannot carry them. And so begins a hilarious negotiation between parent and child of the merits of learning this new (and maybe, possibly, a little bit daunting) skill.

Wonderful! I have to admit, I’m not always the biggest fan of wordless picture books, as they can often feel like less of a shared experience with JJ (mostly due to my own lack of narrative capabilities). Yet this one was filled with such a tight narrative, so much good humor, and so many clever tweaks to the genre that is was a blast to make up our own dialogue. Much of this is due to Teague’s brilliant use of “speech bubbles” that do not display text, but instead smaller pictures that imagine what the characters might be saying. These, combined with the brilliantly-illustrated expressions, convey a clear tone and motivation for each character, providing a structure for their imagined dialogue. Especially funny are the chick’s proposed alternate modes of transportation, such as a sports car, a plane, and a hot air balloon, to name a few. There’s also something nice about the depiction of a single-parent relationship of father and child, a much rarer occurrence in picture books (though it is quite subtle, and those unfamiliar with the gendered markings of robins might be inclined to see the adult bird as a mother). The length is great, and JJ had lots of giggles for the robins’ antics. A fun read for any age, and we recommend it – Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrifying. I could feel my stress levels rising in sympathy with this bird parent. First, they are trying to feed baby bird, but baby bird doesn't feel like leaving the nest. Eventually, baby bird makes it out of the nest mid-tantrum only to immediately fall out of the tree (because they're tantrumming so hard). Cue bird parent trying to literally save the life of their child while said baby bird is arguing and resisting every step of the way. Parent basically says "Baby: you must fly." Baby bird basically says "Parent: no." Enticements of flying down south have no effect, nor do dire threats of death by cat or dog. Baby bird responds with fanciful dreams of other transport, but has no intention of expending any effort to fly and save themself. Finally, bird parent says, "fine. then the owl will eat you. bye." And baby bird gets off their bum and flies back up to the nest.

So... funny... and also horrifyingly relatable. Would be a fun lap-read book, as it has lots to see and talk about.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I looked through this wordless book, I was reminded of Nope by Drew Sheneman.

In both books, a baby bird doesn't want to learn to fly, but each story has a different approach to how the baby bird finally starts flying on its own. It would be interesting to show both books to a young child and to discuss with them the similarities and differences between the two books.
This book also has appealing illustrations, and the thought balloons are filled with images rather than words.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious ( Speech bubbles) wordless book about a baby bird learning to fly.

[Theresa Grissom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful wordless picture book.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/4/2020 ~ Even though this book is wordless, be sure to leave yourself lots of time to "read" the illustrations. The facial expressions are magnificent!

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this directly after reading a picture book that bothered me because it had no capital letters and very little punctuation in its text. I had decided that I probably shouldn't read books to review when I was in a mood to be so easily bothered, but this one immediately put a smile on my face! Of course I always love a good wordless book that somehow still tells a clear story without any words. This IS a very fun, very good wordless book. I loved the bright illustrations and the fun contrast between what the mama bird said and the baby bird. That baby bird has quite the imagination! The creative ideas he had for getting out of learning to fly were very humorous.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable wordless picture book that is filled with expression and would be a fantastically fun read-aloud to share with young readers and listeners. Baby bird is unwilling to fly, despite his mother's best efforts to encourage him. However, when life steps in and gives him a push... and the right convincing from his mom, magic happens.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wordless picture book where a mama bird and baby bird argue and negotiate about the baby bird learning to fly. there are speech bubbles but they contain only pictures. It is funny watching the mama bird explain about flying South for the winter with the baby bird coming up with ways to get to Florida without flying (ie pogo stick, car, train, skateboard, etc).

[Karlen HK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Very cute story.

[Relyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love a good wordless picture book. This one is funny and sweet.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby bird has all sorts of humorous ideas of how to get around without flying.

[Savannah Hendricks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story is without any text so some of the story is up for interpretation. A few pages made zero sense in the direction of what was happening with the bird. Overall, a lot for a child to figure out and many walked away before it was finished.

[Annese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Shelby Barnicle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fly!, written and illustrated by Mark Teague is a wordless story of a bird who falls from his nest and argues with his mother about trying to fly back to the top. The story is told only through the illustrations which are perfectly drawn to tell the story. I found this story to be humorous because the story itself is realistic. The baby bird argued with every reason his mother gave him and tried to think of other solutions to replace him flying himself to the tree such as his mother flying him up, a hot air balloon, airplane, jumping off ski's and more. The baby bird found his own solutions to be humorous as well and Mark Teague also illustrated the mother birds frustrations with the baby bird. The book is funny because it's typical of children to argue their solutions to their parents and end up finding out their parent was right, which is how the story ends when the bird fears the owl such as the mother suggested and is forced to fly himself to the nest once his mother flies herself up. I think the story carries a message about listening to our parents and that its a valuable book for children to read, but it's also humorous and filled with illustrations that perfectly tell a story without any words at all. I think this book would be better for slightly older children who will be able to make sense of the story without any words. While it's easy to get the gist of what is going on, I think as long as the child can analyze the illustrations they would enjoy the story.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby Bird has spent his time having worms delivered right to him in the nest by Mama Bird. So when Mama Bird coaxes him out onto the branch, he throws a bit of a fit. It’s a tantrum big enough to get him out of the nest finally, but it also makes him fall down down down to the ground. Mama Bird encourages him to try to fly back up, but Baby Bird has other ideas. Maybe Mama could carry him or perhaps a hot air balloon? Mama bird warns him that he won’t be able to come along when they migrate to Florida if he can’t fly. Baby Bird thinks that maybe a bike, skateboard, car or train might work even better than flying. Mama Bird next tried to scare baby into flying by talking about dogs, cats, and owls. Owls! Mama Bird may just have convinced her silly Baby Bird to take flight.

Teague’s wordless book is a joy. He cleverly uses speech balloons on the page but fills them with images so that children can “read” this themselves very easily. The conversations between mother and baby are clear and very funny. In particular, Baby Bird’s ideas and jokes will have little ones giggling along. The frustration of Mama Bird is also very clear on the page, her motherly glare is one that most children will recognize from personal experience. Full of great illustrations that tell a complete and compelling story.

A great wordless book that really takes flight. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mama bird has been bringing juicy worms to her fledgling long enough and now it's time for her baby bird to learn to fly and find his own worms. After a bit of a temper tantrum, the little bird gives flying a try but falls to the ground. Mama bird is determined her chick will learn to fly, while baby adamantly refuses to give flying another chance and instead comes up with all kinds of ideas that will get him airborne without his having to do any work. It's clear that mama isn't buying any of those ideas. Next, she tells him that when autumn comes, they need to fly south to Florida, and again baby comes up with ideas to get him there without flying. Mama warns him about hungry dogs and cats who might find a baby bird a fun toy or a tasty treat, but it's the threat of an owl that finally gets him out of the nest and flapping his wings. Next thing baby bird knows, he's finally airborne on his own and can fly. There is finally peace in the nest, and Mama and baby are happily together again. This is a wordless picture book that uses pictures in the speech bubbles in place of words and it works beautifully. My kids each took a turn telling the story using just the illustrations and had so much fun doing it. The message is clear, and the acrylic illustrations are just lovely. This is a book my young readers want to return to again and again.

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes words are not even necessary, and that's exactly what makes this book fly from page to page.

The title says it all: fly! A baby bird has been nurtured by its mother and has finally reached the point, where it should learn to spread its own wings. But the nest is very high in the tree and the ground is a long way down. And how does one fly, anyway?

I can't imagine young readers not liking this book. There are no words...a plus for those who love to flip through books on their own...and yet, none are necessary. The illustrations say it all. The little bird is such a cutie, especially since it starts out small before growing to the size, where it needs to learn how to fly. The first scenes of the mother's care warm the heart. But the baby bird isn't always a joy to be around.

These pages are packed with scenes and moments which are sure to draw a few giggles and many smiles. First, the little bird has a bit of an attitude. Add its very active imagination and a mother, who only lets the bird push her so far...and it's quite a fun adventure. It's a book, which is sure to become a favorite.

I received a complimentary copy and found it to be such a fun 'read' that I'm leaving my honest thoughts.

[Villa Park Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wordless picture book is filled with a most colorful array of engaging pages filled with speech bubbles between a mother and her child and their “plight” about flight for Baby bird. Mama robin bird patiently tries at first to convince baby that he is ready to fly, yet baby bird is not! He has his own wacky & comical ideas about migrating about. Mama robin becomes increasingly frustrated and paints a rather vivid and frightful picture in baby’s head about a certain unwelcoming predator that finally has baby bird determined to fly up to their nest.

This book’s lesson about growing up and challenges one will face along the way in becoming independent is one for ages 0 to 8. Find out the trick Mama bird uses to change baby bird’s mind!

A colorful and simple picture book though, at first, I did find it to be a bit confusing with its many speech bubbles throughout!

Check this book out from the Villa Park Public Library!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mother bird has her feathers full as she tries to convince her unwilling hatchling to leave the nest. When he falls from the branch his mama persuades, cajoles, and threatens in an effort to provoke first flight, but baby responds with arguments that are as difficult to believe as they are not to laugh at. As darkness falls, fear finally stimulates flight, and mother and young cuddle together against the night and cold back in the safety of the nest.

This is a wordless picture book with images so expressive that words would be superfluous. It is impossible not to smile at, and relate to, this mother's struggle to get her child airborn. Parents will relate to the young bird's flights of fantasy and hesitation to assume responsibility for his situation . Youth will relate to the constant prompting and nagging required to push self-motivation into action. The book is a delightfully humorous explication of the relationship between parent and child done in a way that allows both to laugh while they perhaps discuss current tensions and challenges together. It gets full points for handling drama with a deft and charming hand.

[Rebeca Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Picture book: Wordless picture book
Awards: N/A
Audience: Pre-K through 3rd

A. This book does not have any words, and relies entirely on the movement of the characters and settings through illustrations throughout the whole book.
B. The colors transition as the day passes. The mother bird is trying to convince the baby bird that it needs to learn to fly, but as they both become more frustrated with the other, the day gets darker and so do the colors. Another visual element is that any time the baby bird tries to fly, the illustrations turn vertical, so the reader has to turn the book lengthwise to see the full picture of the illustrations.
C. I would use this with one-on-one or small group. This could be used to teach book concept skills, just to know how to flip the pages and such. This could also be for older kids in 2nd or 3rd grade to talk about the meaning and theme behind the story.
D. REMEMBER question: "Did the baby bird learn to fly?" No, it did not.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mama Bird thinks it is time for Baby Bird to learn how to fly so they can go South. Baby Bird isn't so sure about flying, but he does have other methods of transportation in mind. Can Mama Bird convince Baby Bird to try flying?

This was very entertaining as Baby Bird comes up with more and more creative ideas of how to get to Florida. His Mama then resorts to scary reasons to get off the ground and learn to fly, but it seems like Baby Bird always has a comeback. Until Mama Bird hits the jackpot. There are no words in this. In one of the thought bubbles there's a sign that says "Greetings from Florida Land of Sunshine" and another one that says "Welcome to Florida"and a truck with "Florida" on it. Those are the only words in the book. The story is told entirely through the illustrations. Hand this to readers looking for a funny story, also great for kids maybe not ready to read words yet but wanting to read on their own.

[Haylee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This children's book is unique as it is strictly a picture book with no words. Which means that the reader has to create a story on their own from the pictures. The pictures show a story of a baby bird who falls out of his nest and is taught lessons from his mom and then from his own mind. He dreams of all the stuff he could do if he could fly like ride in an airplane or travel to Florida. The illustrations create many different scenarios and storylines that the reader can create on their own. The baby bird is so sad thinking about all the things he wants to do because he thinks he can not fly. With a little pep talk from mom the baby bird is able to fly back up to the safety of his nest. This can also be an important message to younger students how if you ever see a baby bird not to touch it because the momma may not accept him back.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless picture books are a little hard for me because we're in the stage of reading a lot of picture books aloud and it's more difficult to do that without text. Even so, this worked ok and my 3 year old wanted to read it again. A bird doesn't want to learn to fly but his mother won't bring his worm to him. His agitated demands at this lead to him falling out of the nest. Then the mother tells him to fly back to the nest but he suggests some pretty funny alternatives. The mom explains that when its time to fly South for the winter he's going to need to know how to fly. He thinks there are ways other than flying to get there. It takes all day and into the night but the mom eventually gets him to try.

[Christie Kaaland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mama Bird is exhausted from gathering worms for Baby Bird and feels its definitely time for baby bird to leave the next. Baby Bird would love to be served worms ala carte forever. When Baby Bird accidentally falls out of the next, Mama Bird is sure she can now convince Baby Bird to at least TRY to FLY. She entices, cajoles, and threatens but nothing she offers will convince Baby Bird to fly. Until she mentions owls. Keen adults will enjoy the humor in this picturebook as well. There's a subtle universality to the theme of this timely book. Not wanting to leave the next seems to be an epidemic in this country. It's just so comfortable having mom bring worms (cook dinner) and wait on children hand and foot.