The Stone Bird

Young Eliza finds a small stone on the beach and, beguiled, claims it as her own. By the time she makes it home, she has decided it's an egg. Days pass, and one morning she wakes up to see, in place of the "egg," a stone bird. As the seasons go by, further changes occur: a small gray stone appears next to her bird; later, that small stone is replaced by a stone chick. Then, as a breeze makes its way through her open bedroom window one night, she hears the beating of wings and wakes to find both birds gone. She mourns their loss but is comforted when two gray birds leave a feather on her windowsill. McCartney captures in direct, uncomplicated prose the unwavering faith and abundant imagination of children, even when the adults around them are quick to dole out crushing doses of reason. Eliza's mother repeatedly attempts to shut down Eliza's magical leanings: "It's much too heavy to be an egg"; "It's too hard to be a bird." But Eliza disregards such doubt, knowing that this "stony secret" is hers alone. Benson's richly detailed depictions of Eliza's home and the natural world around it radiate warmth. These cozy, sunlit illustrations reflect the fervor of Eliza's convictions; in many spreads, ?we see her stare in wide-eyed wonder ?at her stone companions-as real in ?her mind as they are solid in her hand. julie Danielson