When a small blue budgie needs to make room for a new bird to join his little flock, things don’t go so well. Barnaby, by Andrea Curtis and Kass Reich, is a lovely little story about making room for new friends.

When the new yellow bird comes home with the lady with the red hair, Barnaby is instantly jealous and lets everyone know. He gets so mad that he flies away, thinking he would be happier on his own. When he encounters a flock of dull, brown birds he’s sceptical at first but he learns from them how to be part of a flock and how to be a good friend.

The writing is beautiful and breathy, just like the flight of the bird on the wind. I love the descriptive text, it gives readers a clear picture of the setting of the story. You wouldn’t even need the illustrations to know exactly what everything looks like because of the beautiful text.

The illustrations are incredible. Kass Reich is one of our favourite illustrators, her work is distinctive and warm inviting readers into each world she creates. In Barnaby, the distinction between Barnaby and the other birds is stark, you can’t miss the little blue budgie out in the wild. The birds are so expressive, animated and realistic, you can tell Kass Reich has spent time observing and studying birds.