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My Dad's a Birdman
 
 

My Dad's a Birdman (Hardcover)

by David Almond (Author), Polly Dunbar (Illustrator)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.74 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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My Dad's a Birdman + The Savage
Price For Both: £11.53

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Walker Books Ltd (1 Oct 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1406304867
  • ISBN-13: 978-1406304862
  • Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.6 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 243,650 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #20 in  Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators > A > Almond, David

Product Description

Review
"There really is nobody quite like Almond writing in children's or adult's fiction today." The Times"

Almond aims at a younger audience than usual, but crafts a tale at least as emotionally complex as any of his heavier outings. Young Lizzie's widowed dad has regressed back to childhood - to the point where she has to force him to eat breakfast, can't get him out of pajamas and even frets about leaving him alone in the house while she's at school. Worse, he's constructed wings, taken to eating bugs and worms on the sly to get his weight down and entered the Great Human Bird Competition in order to "make me mark at last." Building on this depressing premise, the author unexpectedly fashions a buoyant story in which "It doesn't matter if we fly or if we fall. We've got each other. We're doing it together. That's all that matters." The characters sport silly names like Doreen Doody and Mr. Poop, and Dunbar's colored illustrations, which appear on nearly every spread, evoke Quentin Blake. Readers will definitely come away with mixed feelings - not necessarily a bad thing, to be sure. (Fiction. 10-12) (Kirkus Reviews)

Product Description
Lizzie and Dad live in a rainy town in the north of England. It's just the two of them, and Auntie Doreen, who pops round to check Lizzie's spellings and tell Dad he's daft - and make them nice hot dumplings. But today there's something unusual going on: why is Dad building himself a pair of wings and studying the birds to see how they fly? The Great Human Bird Competition of course!

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing and humorous chapter book for the 5-9s with light-hearted pictures, 19 Oct 2007
By ELH Browning "Esther-Lou" (Kingston Bagpuize, Oxon) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This is a great book, a lovely chapter book for the 6+, with bright and cheery illustrations sprinkled throughout and a hint of northern accents.
The main theme, if you like, is a dad and his daughter who have a close relationship. Dad's a bit mad and daughter Lizzie keeps an eye on him.
The Great Human Bird competition is about to take place with many wonderfully inventive (and humorously illustrated) entries, such as Woodpecker Wallie from Whitley Bay and Benny the Bee Boy from Burramurra. Dad chooses "Wings and Faith" as his method of propulsion over the River Tyne but it doesn't seem to be infallible to anyone except Lizzie's Dad.
This is good fresh writing, and I think there's a touch of Dahl both in the storyline and in the writing style too. Unlike Mr Dahl's stories, however, this narrative has a more realistic finale.
Dad fails in his mission to fly over the Tyne with a mighty splash as do the vast majority of the competitors. However, Lizzie and Dad had tried their best to make perfect feathery wings and Dad had even confined himself to an avian diet of insects etc beforehand. So they'd pulled out all the stops and had lot of fun so what did it matter: its a great message for children who all too often see success as entirely synonymous with winning.
As a sideline there's also an Auntie Doreen and her dumplings who falls for Lizzie's headmaster Mr Mortimer Mint.
These four main protagonists all merrily provide a brilliant feel good ending.
Birdman Dad may not be a winner, but "My Dad's A Birdman" certainly is!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Magic, mayhem & madness!, 7 Nov 2007
A brilliant book! The pace is very fast and the madness and humour will not fail to capture the attention of children. It is beautifully written and illustrated - the illustrations alone would make you want to read it. Nor would I restrict it to younger children.

There is also a thread of sadness that is open for exploration. How a father and child cope in their own way with the loss of a loved one. It is not overtly dwelt upon and is treated with great sensitivity. Showing how loss can produce strange/eccentric behaviour even in adults, and how the child can become the stronger carer in a parent/child relationship. Leaving the reader with an impression that equanimity and balance will be restored in the future.
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1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book for younger children from the author of Skellig, 20 Feb 2009
By Mrs. K. A. Wheatley "katywheatley" (Leicester, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: My Dad's a Birdman (Paperback)
Almond is the most humane of writers, dealing with love and loss and deep emotions that touch a child, but in a way that a child can truly understand. His previous writing has been for young adults. This book, for ages 5 and up, deals with all the same themes but in a more accessible way.

Lizzie's dad is a little unhinged by the loss of his wife. He decides to enter the great human bird competition and fly across the Tyne on his home made wings. He tries to become a bird by eating beetles and jumping off of furniture, waiting for the day his feet don't touch the ground.

Lizzie, an intelligent, loving child joins her father on his voyage of discovery in which they both get to bring the joy back into their lives.

Despite its deeper messages this is not a preachy book. It is fun and clever and full of compassion. The ridiculous names of the entrants in the competition and Aunty Doreen and her dumpling cure for anything add some wonderful humour, and the illustrations are truly gorgeous.

This is a real treasure of a book.
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