Scoot: A Tiny New York Bird with a Great Big Idea

Snappy, staccato text by Manushkin (Plenty of Hugs) energizes this metropolitan tale about a new New Yorker contributing to the city’s welfare. Nesting on East 88th St., the recently arrived sparrow likes the city views and the smells of food vendors, and when fast-walking New York City pedestrians snap at her for landing on the sidewalk in pursuit of tasty morsels, she takes their exclamation—“Scoot!”—as her name. A wiser sparrow, Scram, gives advice: “Hop right! Hop left! Like so, kid: GO!” The eating is good, but watching working New Yorkers, from “shoemakers, dressmakers, and bakers” to the Rockettes, inspires Scoot. Aiming high, she organizes a crew of New York City sparrows that help migrating birds “dazed by New York’s bright night,” an act that boosts the bird’s self-esteem in the bargain. In architecturally attentive pencil and gouache panels, Degen (the Magic School Bus series) zooms in tight to see action from a sparrow’s-eye view, then pans wide to present famous city landmarks, changing perspectives to chime with the sparky narration in a title that shows how everyone has gifts to give. An author’s note contextualizes the city’s placement on the Atlantic Flyway. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)