The Birds in the Boat

A large, swan-like bird tends to her multicolored brood in this sumptuously dreamy picture book from Weber (Year Round), which traces a full day of avian rest and play. After “the bird out at sea// comes home to her tree// and waits in the moonlight// for morning,” minimal incantatory text coos with simple rhymes that describe the creature’s activities with her five young. The birds ride ocean waves alongside flying fish; join figures avian, canine, and human—depicted with light brown skin—on a boat; retreat to their cushy-looking treetop nest for a nap; and again head out to play. Rendered in dusty shades of blue, cream, green, and pink, mural-like spreads feature curvilinear forms that seem to morph and shift from scene to scene—the birds nestle into waves, clouds, and a tree, everything melting into everything else. The plot hews to a circuitous logic of its own while incorporating the cadences of birdsong (“a-hoo-loo! a-hoo-loo!”) and nonsense verse (“The birds in a row// away they all go”). Less a book to read than one to slowly inhale, it feels like a lullaby made visible. Ages 4–8. Agent: Hannah Mann, Writers House. (July)