Published on June 6th, 2022 | by Adrian Gunning
Song of the White Ibis Book Review
Summary: Song of the White Ibis is a beautifully written book about this misunderstood bird!
5
Fun facts!
Written by Phillip Gwynne (Deadly Unna) with art by Liz Anelli (One Photo), Song of the White Ibis is a beautifully created book about… well… the white Ibis! While these birds have been called all sorts of names from Bin Chicken to Tip Turney and the Picnic Pirate which is a common thread throughout the title.
The author also sheds some real-world lessons to the reader such as the scientific name of these birds (Threskiornis Molucca) and that they are related to the Ibis of Egypt who have an ancient god named Thoth after them, including where they live in Australia. Fun facts that are beautifully presented!
Call me Bin Chicken
Call me Tip Turkey
Call me Picnic Pirate
However we learn that this misunderstood bird is also a helper as farmers love that they aerate their soil by looking for worms, including eating the locusts when the plagues arrive. We also discover that they love to eat crayfish and how the push of man forced them into our cities that for some became their new habitat. They next in trees to start their families the main message in this book is that these birds are actually natures own recyclers and hopefully one day, man can follow these Picnic Pirates.
Call me Bin Chicken
Call me Tip Turkey
Call me Picnic Pirate
Supporting this message is the stunning art of Liz Anellie which suits the text of Phillip Gwynne perfectly as she helps bring his words to life with her wondrous illustrations as these birds which almost fly out of the pages. Needless to say, her art really adds another layer to this story with some exceptional attention to detail and superb use of colours.
Final thoughts?
This 32-page book will draw the reader in as they are taken on a very enjoyable edutainment story about the Australian White Ibis who has received a bad rap over their nature.
Brilliant!