I am a Bird of the City/Je suis un oiseau de la ville

The magpie chatters.
I’m a chatterbox! My call sounds like a box of matches being shaken in the streets. Some say I steal things and call me the “thieving magpie”! How rude! I’m simply drawn to shiny things because they’re rare in nature.

More than half of the world population lives in cities and will relate to this non-fiction picture book! A fun and graphic journey to rediscover nature, listen to and observe the birds around us, even in cities.

The idea for this book was born during lockdown, when birds returned to urban areas and made their voices heard. I Am a Bird of the City is an original invitation to listen to and observe thirty or so birds that can be found in European cities at different times of the year. Each double page presents a bird’s biography, with a great deal of humour and light-heartedness, accompanied by various anecdotes and references. The book explores sound through graphic language, created by the author, to recreate and recognise each bird’s call. There are also several guessing and observation games scattered throughout, such as “Who is the smallest?”.

Subtle, fresh and deep colour combinations bring the illustrations to life, superbly transposed by the co-illustrators with scientificprecision.