Award-winning picture book creators Claire Saxby and Wayne Harris team up to bring us a gentle story of nature, history, recycling and art.
A bird drops a seed to the floor of the forest. The seed grows into a sapling, then a tree. The tree is felled and taken to a busy city. Bird to Bird is the story of one bird, one seed, one tree. Award-winning picture book creators Claire Saxby and Wayne Harris have crafted a gentle story of nature, history, recycling and art.
- The truth behind this story is that the wood used to make bunks on board the convict ships was reused when the ships reached Australia. There was no need for the bunks on the return journey and the wood was a valuable resource.
- Exquisite paintings by award-winning illustrator Wayne Harris take this story through time.
- This is a gentle story of nature, Australian history, recycling and art.
About the Author
Claire Saxby is an award-winning and best-selling picture book author. Her two previous
Nature Storybooks, Big Red Kangaroo (2013) and
Emu (2014) both illustrated by Graham Byrne have won numerous awards. Big Red Kangaroo was a 2014 CBCA Notable Book, and won the CBCA Crichton Award for illustration, and Emu was short-listed for 2015 CBCA Eve Pownall Award and won the Environment Award for Children's Literature. Claire lives in Melbourne, where she works part-time in a bookshop. Her latest book is Koala, illustrated by Julie Vivas.
About the Illustrator
Wayne Harris is an award-winning illustrator and designer. He won the APA Best Designed Picture Book of the Year Award for
A Bit of Company by Margaret Wild and for
Gordon’s Got a Snookie by Lisa Shanahan. He was short-listed in the 1995 NSW Premier’s Award for writing Judy and the Volcano, the same year
Going Home was named an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book. He works as a designer for Walker Books Australia and also teaches design and illustration. He has most recently illustrated
Edge of the World, written by Ian Trevaskis, and
Donfinkle Vonkrinkle, written by Choechoe Brereton.
Industry Reviews
A gentle story of Australia's beginnings is given a broader scope through the illustrations showing Australia through time; beginning with the convict ships arriving on Sydney's shore to the building of looms to prepare cloth, the settlers' huts miles from the city, then back to the place it started, the harbour where children play with the last product of the original tree. * Fran Knight - Read Plus *
Bird to Bird is a book that packs a powerful punch. * Kids' Book Review *
This book can be used to discuss how things change with time, and how some things can be used over and over for different purposes * Karen Colliver - Read Plus *
Harris' evocative paintings are the perfect pairing to Saxby's simple, poetic text * Books+Publishing *
The beautiful and sparse writing of Claire tells a story of a tree and its importance. A delight. * The Little Book Emporium *
An imaginative, thought-provoking book. * Reading Time *
Saxby's text is elegant and sparse, filled with gentle repetition and a beautifully circular narrative. Wayne Harris' accompanying illustrations are stunning. * Books+Publishing *
Lovely artwork helps young readers to engage with aspects of history. * Blog of Dog *
This is an excellent, thoughtful book. * Patreon *
I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading to classes in the school library. * NZ Book Council *