Shy

Shy is an awkward, bookish giraffe whose thrilling encounter with a real bird compels him to leave his confined existence to find her. “Treep treep troo-lee!” cries the yellow bird, and Shy is smitten. He’s never heard birdsong before (“None of his books could sing”), and to find her he must go where he’s never gone before. Shy is so shy that readers don’t see him at all until well into the story. When Freedman (By Mouse and Frog) writes, “Shy was happiest between the pages of a book,” it’s a pun; an arrow points to the book’s gutter, where Shy is hiding. Only when he starts to search does he step out onto the page and become visible. When at last Shy and the bird meet, he can use the line the story has been heading for: “Shy whispered, ‘I’m shy.’ ” Florence (the bird) loves Shy’s books, it turns out, and the two head for happily ever after. Freedman gently suggests that love can push us to be braver than we’ve ever been. Ages 3–5. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Sept.)