A fable about family that isn’t clearly LGBTQ inclusive, but that may resonate with some LGBTQ families.
Oddbird, a small gray bird, is happy to visit his friend Jerry’s house and meet Jerry’s dad and sister. While Oddbird has “managed pretty well” without a mother, father, sister, or brother of his own, he reflects, he now wishes for a family. “In that moment, Oddbird felt very alone,” we read, as the spread shows Oddbird in the middle of a swirling, dark blue vortex.
The gloom doesn’t last too long, however, as the next spread shows Oddbird waking up on his birthday, apparently content to spend the day reading—until a knock on the door brings all of his friends, with a birthday surprise! He realizes that his family “may not have looked like other families, but it was his. Oddbird had a chosen family.”
Author/illustrator Derek Desierto’s images add verve to the simple tale, although Oddbird stands out as gray—a color he came to accept in the first book of this series (although each reads as a standalone tale). Adult readers may want to be prepared to discuss why Oddbird has no parents, a point that could puzzle young readers who aren’t in this situation themselves. For young people with chosen family (in full or in part), however, this book offers important representation.
