I Heard a Bird (In the Garden)

A girl is walking in her garden. She introduces herself to the readers, then exclaims she heard a bird. Before she can get a good look at the bird, two cats crouching on the wall start wailing at each other, scaring the bird away. The girl claps her hands and chases the cats away. She looks for the bird while she listens to rustling leaves and bees buzzing, and then she crouches down looking in the grass. She sees busy bugs, crawling caterpillars, centipedes, ants, a spider, and a beetle. She listens, she looks, she searches, she breathes deeply. She enjoys some silence. There are many things to discover in one’s own garden if one is open to new experiences.

Rob Ramsden has written and illustrated this charming story that will encourage youngsters to explore their own backyards with open minds and sparked imaginations. Ramsden uses plenty of lyrical language, onomatopoeia, and alliteration to tell the young girl’s sweet story. The illustrations, in somewhat muted colors and with the look of collage, are filled with delightful details that will help keep young listeners fully engaged. This is a lovely introduction to mindfulness for little ones.