Community Bonds
Any story featuring birds and plasticine artwork is a book I want to read. The Birds of Wishbone Street by Suzanne De Rizzo is a story about birds and a special community.
Wishbone Street is a community where all of the people have come from different places in the world. The children play together in the park while the elders treat them to delicious treats. A new neighbour has moved in and right away Maureen (Moe) tries to make Sami feel welcome. They bond over the birds. Eventually Sami shares stories from his life in Syria and inspires the children to come together to make the winter a little more comfortable for the beautiful birds.
We love the community feel of this story. It wraps you in a warm blanket of kindness. The people in the community are kind and generous, all from different places around the world. Collecting treasures is an important part of life on Wishbone street. Moe welcomes Sami to the community by sharing a bird's feather with him, before even knowing about his own collecting of treasures from Syria. The treasures help the children learn more about each other and build friendships. The children of Wishbone Street are so welcoming. When a bird is in trouble, they band together to save this cherished member of the community. The support and love the members of the community feel for each other is evident on each page. It’s a story that obviously come from the heart and extends a hand to readers.
The plasticine illustrations will blow you away! The amount of detail and love placed into each spread invites readers into the community. There are not many spreads that are missing birds somewhere in the picture and readers will have a fun time trying to spot the beautiful cardinal pair throughout the book. Plasticine art is inspiring and readers will be eager to take out their own plasticine and create. Or perhaps will want to follow the instructions at the end of the story to make roosting baskets and/or bird suet treats for their feathered community members.
According to Suzanne Del Rizzo’s author’s note, Wishbone Street is inspired by a real street in Toronto where her husband grew up. A beautiful connection to her whole family and a reflection of why this story is so special.
