All Birds Have Anxiety

Building on All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome and All Dogs Have ADHD, Hoopmann uses stock photographs of dozens of birds to convey aspects of life with anxiety. The project relies heavily on anthropomorphism—namely reading worry, frustration, and fear in the faces and body language of eagles, penguins, and other birds, none of which are identified. “When stress builds up, anything can set off anxiety, such as: a change of plan, something new, a comment, a thought. Stuff,” writes Hoopmann beside an image of a horned owl, its wide, orange eyes meant to signal extreme alarm. The text and images are well paired, but 50 pages of stressed-and-depressed-looking birds and their “symptoms” (“Wide-awake thoughts churn in our minds”) is a lot to wade through before Hoopmann begins to suggest ways to combat anxiety in the final third of the book. Ages 4–up. (Mar.)