Birds of a Feather: Bowerbirds and Me [Hardcover]

One makes colorful paper collages; the other, intricate environments out of found objects. And yet Susan L. Roth and the remarkable bowerbird are truly birds of a feather.

Sibert Medalist Susan L. Roth is like a bowerbird, a small black bird found in Australia and New Guinea that builds elaborate structures from various materials they find near their habitats.

Though Susan creates books to attract readers and bowerbirds build bowers to attract a mate, both get their ideas from the world around them and the materials they find. Both love colors. No two of their respective creations are alike. And most importantly, both Susan and the bowerbirds aspire for their finished works to be greater than the sum of their parts.

Complete with engaging backmatter and dazzling artwork crammed full of so much to look at, this visually delightful picture book from award-winning author and artist Susan L. Roth is a fascinating comparison of art we create and art we find in nature.

A Bank Street Best Book of the Year - Outstanding Merit★ Blending memoir and nonfiction with deep ruminations on what constitutes an artist, Roth presents parallels between her life as an illustrator and the life of an Australian bowerbird. . . . introspective readers will be satisfied by the reflective nature of the text and the behind-the-scenes look at dual artistic processes.  Roth persuasively argues that all artists…seek praise, and this ambitious hybrid demands to be seen. —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ Part picture-book memoir and part informational text, this fanciful ode to the creative process and the colorful courtship practices of bowerbirds will delight budding artists and bird-lovers alike. . . . The author-illustrator dives deep into how and why she makes her cral3I