The Woman Who Turned Children into Birds

A curious stranger brightens a small town in this buoyant picture book by Almond (Annie Lumsden, the Girl from the Sea). White-presenting Nanty Solo, who wears a green sweater, uses a cane, and sits on a park bench in the town square, says she can turn children into birds. The grown-ups are by turns incredulous and horrified: “It’s piffle, twaddle, balderdash... so stay away!” But one pale-skinned child soon discovers that Nanty Solo is telling the truth, becoming a swallow for “a few short, soaring minutes.” Soon, another child says yes, and then another. Mixed-media spreads by Carlin (The Song of the Nightingale) heighten the town’s workaday life by portraying figures of varying skin tones in shadowy, smudgy grayscale. Around Nanty Solo’s transformations, though, golden light breaks through the shadow, lending color to the landscape. As more and more children take gladly to the sky, Nanty Solo asks the grounded adults a crucial question: “But what on earth are you frightened of?” It’s the tale of the Pied Piper, transformed into a story of freedom. With hints of Roald Dahl and P.L. Travers, Almond’s brief, electrifying tale champions defying convention and embracing risk. Ages 4–6. (Oct.)