#995 of 1001 · April 22, 2023

Gentle Readers, my Final Ten Books continue with an instructional guide for a seemingly impossible task: How to Make a Bird by @megmckinlay and @mattottleyart. The text comprises a pensive set of materials and instructions. Readers are advised that they will need tiny, hollow bones, feathers, and a swiftly beating heart. McKinlay mines stanza after stanza of soaring prose poetry from her simple premise, investigating human experiences and emotions with a thoughtful eye. Ottley’s quietly powerful illustrations of a young girl assembling a bird in a house on stilts by the beach, executed in pigmented ink, mesh perfectly with the writing, creating a haunting meditation on creativity and mindfulness. #bird #birds #create #creation #emotion #mindfulness #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks