#577 - Birds on the Brain
by Uma Krishnaswami and illustrated by Chetan Sharma
“Birds on the Brain” by Uma Krishnaswami and illustrated by Chetan Sharma. Published by Duckbill. A heartwarming story of feisty Reeni who is on a mission to save her city’s birds even if it means that she has to face the mayor of the city.
Reeni is an avid birdwatcher. She loves spending time on the rooftop of her apartment looking for birds. When her teacher Mrs Rao wants the children of her class to do surveys on topics of their choice, Reeni chooses her favourite topic of birds. Along with her friend Yasmin, she starts work on preparing the survey questions. They realise that Bird Count India is soon coming up. They decide to include a question in their survey whether people are aware of the bird count and see if they would be interested to sign up for it.
Reeni and Yasmin are shocked when they learn that no one knows about the bird count. Even though it is a global movement and thousands of birdwatchers participate in it, people around them are not aware of it. Reeni is at a loss to understand how people do not seem to care about birds or try understanding them. There are so many threats to birds in the name of development of the city. She is shocked to know from her mother who works for a television channel that the mayor of the city seemed to be avoiding the topic of bird count. What can Reeni and Yasmin do to make people around them interested in the bird count? They will need help from their families and diverse friends like their classmate Anil, Book Uncle who runs a library in their apartment, the istri (ironing) lady and even their school bus driver. After all every person in the community can play a crucial role in bringing about a change. Read the story to see how determination and willingness to bring about a change will make Reeni and her community realise that our welfare lies in the welfare of the birds.
The book proved to be an extremely relatable one for me as well as my ten and a half year old son given our love for bird watching. Multiple themes such as helping each other, finding amicable solutions, environmental concern, spreading awareness, living in harmony with nature, bird watching, empathy, teamwork, friendship and standing up for what is right have been deftly interwoven in the story. We cheered Reeni as she followed her passion and set forth on a mission to save the birds in her city. It was wonderful to see the diverse characters play significant roles throughout the story. Reeni struggling to accept that not everyone may have same interests, bird watching in this case, and gradually coming to terms with it has been portrayed so well. It was heartening to see her transform from being self centred initially during the survey to accepting and working together with her friends. How an entire community can come together to stand up for a cause if awareness is spread in the right way has come out well. The beautiful illustrations add to the charm of the story. My son is now aware of “Bird Count India” thanks to the book :) Overall the book is a “MUST READ” for the powerful messages it packs in.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 8 and above.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India (Duckbill), for review. Thank you to Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!