Finalist for the 2025 Elizabeth Mrazik Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award (IBBY Canada):

https://www.ibby-canada.org/announcing-the-finalists-for-the-2025-elizabeth-mrazik-cleaver-canadian-picture-book-award/

A fun, lyrical romp through nature with friends Ellie and Ollie, as they set out to discover what makes a bird a bird.

Best friends Ellie and Ollie are two curious kids on a walk through the natural greenspaces of their neighbourhood. After coming across a mysterious red feather, they wonder about what kind of bird it might have come from, observing that birds come in all shapes, sizes, and colours. This leads to the central quandary of this lyrical story: "If birds are all different, then what's with their name? What makes them all birds? What makes them the same?" As the friends set out to uncover the one key element that makes a bird a bird, they use observational and critical thinking skills to figure it out. Is it the fact that birds have wings? That they build nests? Or perhaps it's their ability to sing?

After asking questions and exploring their surroundings, the friends are no closer to the answer they seek--until a eureka moment makes everything clear! This charming journey of discovery will delight young children as they follow Ellie and Ollie's line of reasoning and will encourage them to look closer at the natural world.