• Age: 3 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 3 to 7

In this poignant story from Andrew Larsen, a child spends time with a beloved grandmother during her final days and experiences love that will last a lifetime.

When Grandma gets sick and comes to stay at her grandchild's house, she brings her bird feeder. Grandma loves birds. And the child loves the time they now get to have together, drawing pictures of birds and “talking about interesting things.” After a while, though, Grandma's health declines, and she moves to the hospice. Hanging Grandma's bird feeder outside the window there makes things better. After a while, though, Grandma continues to grow weaker, and her ability to interact lessens. Difficult as it is, the child adjusts, knowing that, while the situation keeps changing, their love for each other never wavers.

Award-winning author Andrew Larsen beautifully captures the special bond between a child and a grandparent, and sensitively deals with a child's loss of a loved one. Using the motif of their shared love of birds and its physical manifestation in the form of the bird feeder allows for a continuity in the child's life that puts the loss in a larger context. Larsen offers an authentic, straightforward presentation of the process of a loved one's death, from being sick, to going to the hospice, to participating less and less in their relationship, to death. It will lead young readers to ask their own questions about life, death and how we remember those who die. The cool palette and simple lines in Dorothy Leung's art evoke empathy for the child's experience, while the presence of the birds adds life and hope to the visual story.

Andrew Larsen est père au foyer et auteur. Quand il était enfant, il passait toujours une partie de son été au chalet de ses grands-parents, situé sur une colline, près d'un lac. Andrew habite à Toronto. Il a publié sept albums jeunesse.

Andrew Larsen is a father, homemaker and author. When he was a child, he would spend a part of every summer with his grandparents at their cottage on a hill, by a lake. Andrew now lives in a downtown Toronto neighbourhood. He has published seven picture books.

Andrew Larsen's profile page

Dorothy Leung is an illustrator from the suburbs of Toronto. She studied and worked in architecture before pursuing her illustration dream. She is the illustrator of When the Wind Came and The Bird Feeder. In her work, she strives to evoke empathy, nostalgia, sentimentality and wonder. Dorothy's work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and American Illustration and has appeared in publications such as The Walrus and the Globe and Mail.

Dorothy Leung's profile page

• Joint winner, Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education

Told with kindness, dignity, and empathy, [this] is a wonderful book that tells a difficult but necessary story and does so in a compassionate and uplifting manner.—Children's Literature

A tear-jerker sure to bring comfort to those facing similar partings.

Kirkus Reviews

Leung's care in illustrating the child in androgynous way makes the book accessible and relatable to all children ... [this book] will provide comfort that their relationships can continue beyond death ...

Canadian Children's Booknews

Leung's care in illustrating the child in androgynous way makes the book accessible and relatable to all children ... [this book] will provide comfort that their relationships can continue beyond death ...—Canadian Children's Booknews

The Bird Feeder is the perfect story to help put into words what a parent may not be able to do in those moments.

CM Magazine

As fresh and vibrant as a spring bouquet, this joyous offering will delight children, particularly young artists, throughout the year.—Booklist, Starred Review (Praise for Me, Toma and the Concrete Garden)

Told with kindness, dignity, and empathy, [this] is a wonderful book that tells a difficult but necessary story and does so in a compassionate and uplifting manner.

Children's Literature