Hummingbird’s Big Trip

On the cusp of winter migration, a hummingbird works through worries about its looming journey to “the warm south” in a candidly told first-person narrative from Karas (Almost Time). The ruby-throated avian’s nervousness is apparent from the start; while other birds chirp incessantly about “the big trip,” the protagonist loses its appetite. Expressing myriad fears (of getting lost, growing fatigued), the worried speaker subtly weaves scientific information into the text, describing how “hummingbirds don’t fly in groups. They fly alone all that way, for days and days.” Encouraged by supportive friends (“You go through this every year”), Hummingbird envisages “my warm winter home and how good I feel when I’m there” until the time to depart arrives. Ensuing multi-spread scenes—captured via spare, loose drawings layered over textured paper—underscore the incredible distance being crossed, even as text suggests that the subject’s unease never fully dissipates (“So much flying! I should be there by now”). The reluctant traveler’s journey from anxious to confident forms the heart of this sensitive, science-led story, and the final arrival at “home, sweet winter home” offers an ample sense of accomplishment and relief. An endnote supplies further facts. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)