Leaving the Nest

By Mordicai Gerstein

What do a baby blue jay, a kitten, a girl, and a baby squirrel have in common?They are emphatically curious about the world.They find it difficult to leave the place where they feel safest.And, eventually, they must all spread their wings and fly.With his ever-inventive art, Caldecott winner Mordicai Gerstein stretches the boundaries of the traditional picture book, here using speech balloons to show all the characters talking at the same time and energetic pen-and-watercolor illustrations in this celebration of growing up. "Leaving the Nest" is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374343691
• ISBN13: 9780374343699
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.2" x 0.4" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 3 to 6 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 1

Customer Reviews

Warm story of making new discoveries - and new friends.

Mordicai Gerstein's LEAVING THE NEST tells about curious young animals who want to leave their safe homes to see the world. All are growing up - and all interact on an unusual level in this warm story of making new discoveries - and new friends.

Leaving the Nest

Gerstein, Mordicai Leaving the Nest A young baby jay is warned by his mother not to fall out of the nest and a little girl comes out to practice riding her bike but tells her kitten "But you are still too little to go outside." "I bet I could fly if I wanted to says Baby Jay...but I will never leave this nest!" "This bicycle feels shaky, says the girl. What if I fall?" "The door is open, says Kitten. I'll just have a peek." Then when Baby Jay falls out of the nest, a series of intertwining dramas ensue. Text bubbles convey the thoughts and actions of all three and as all the fuss and commotion takes place, a baby squirrel keeps asking his mother to explain what is going on. The animals talk but in the context of the story, this anthropomorphizing feels natural. Finally, everyone says, "Lets Eat". Off course the baby squirrel has the last word, "Tomorrow I'm leaving this nest!" In text and pictures, this story is perfect for reassuring children that while scary things happen, most of them can result in a positive experience. The author-illustrator fills his pictures with warm colors, soft green, blue and brown tones that reflect the natural world and expressive faces and actions that bring this delightful story alive: the girl rides her bicycle fast and then without handlebars, the tiger striped kitten with bright green eyes leaps off a porch step, and frantic Mama Jay squawks at the abandoned nest, "where are you?" as her baby falls straight toward the ground.