This is children's book has lovely illustrations and is easy to read. As an adult I found the story a little dry and the storyline was obvious, you just knew how it would unfold. Although I do love reading aloud a rhyming book this one was just too much and it wasn't a fun read.
I did also read it to my three, five and eight year old grandchildren, who said it was a good book, however, none of them engaged with it and took part in the repetitive parts. They certainly weren't enthralled by it.
Overall, it is a nice picture book with good pictures to look at but it's not a great book.

A lovely fun story for little ones with a moral about friendship. Beautifully illustrated as always.

I’m a big fan of Julia Donaldson’s so I was sad to read this and be left feeling underwhelmed. It’s missing some of the magic her books usually bring. I’m sure it will find a welcoming audience, but for me it’s just a bit of a miss.

Yet another great book by Julia Donaldson; with the rhyming and the repeating phrases that the children love.
Introducing these new characters to the children will be exciting and no doubt it will become a firm favourite with children.

What a lovely book, this little treat is a real traditional picture book. Catherine Rayners stunning paintings provide both beauty and character and Julia Donaldsons prose seems both fresher and more traditional all at once than recently. A lovely tale about needing time to oneself, but also the value of friendship and teamwork. Lovely.

This book may only be credited to Julia Donaldson on Net Galley's database but in my opinion it is Catherine Rayner's sumptuous illustrations that make it special. Catherine is a hugely talented artist and her use of colour and space is outstanding. Julia's story with its repeating refrain may be what draws children in but they will linger to enjoy the pictures.

A beautiful story of friendship, kindness and happiness. The illustrations are breathtakingly beautiful with very strong colours. The wordings are simple and the rhyming verses are easy for young children to read and comprehend. I absolutely lobpbed reading it and will be definitely sharing this with my class once it gets published.

My kids loved this story. The rhyme was lots of fun for the youngest, with Julia Donaldson’s easy to read style and flow of the story. My eldest enjoyed talking through the meaning of the story and why we should be nice to others even when we’re feeling lonely or sad. A beautiful story about the loyalty of others, and the powner of friendship, in this situation when it doesn’t feel deserved by the go away bird. A great way to talk to children about being kind to those who aren’t our friends, and giving people a second chance.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to share this book with my children in exchange for an honest review.

We are massive Julia Donaldson fans and have read her books numerous times and I think we own every single one she has published so this book had a high standard too meet. This book has a lovely strong message about the benefits of friendship and how together we are stronger. The illustrations are nice but personally, we do prefer Axel Scheffler bolder more vibrant illustrations. So for us although its a nice book its not as strong as some of her classic but that being said it is a very nice read, it rolls nicely off the tongue and is much more of a joy for parents to read time after time than some other kids books.

My eight year old grandaughter read this to me although she is maybe a little too old for the story. She loved it although she thought the bird was too mean to birds who wanted to be her friend. The story flows well and as ever catches the imagination of children. The excellent illustrations help too. This should be another favourite with children and grandads!

This is a lovely book about a bird having a bad day and doesn't want to be with anyone else. Not to talk, eat, or fly. But then she gets chased by a bigger bird who wants to eat her and the other birds she sent away come to the rescue.

It's nicely illustrated and I think children will enjoy the parts of the book where they can join in, and also the repetition. However, I missed the moral behind the book and I wasn't sure of its intention.

Great for readers aged between 2 and 6 years old for a bit of fun and interaction.

This is an absolute delight - a wonderful story about friendship with beautiful illustrations throughout. My children are too old for Julia Donaldson now, but I will be buying several copies of this for friends with young children.

I read this with my 2 year old, who is a massive fan of all Julia Donaldson books. I find most of Julia's books consist of a really strong story line with an important underlying message which allows a parent or teacher to open up a conversation about the topic.

The Go-Away Bird is a wonderful example of this, and a timely arrival for me personally as my daughter has reached the age where socialising, sharing, being kind and forming friendships are entering her small world and we are hearing the words "go away" more than we would like to as parents!

We settled down and read the story together. My daughter enjoyed pointing out the birds in the pictures and I found the rhyming text very easy to read out loud. We both enjoyed saying "go away, go away, go away" together and when the Get-you bird appeared, my daughter was immediately concerned and invested in the Go-Away bird finding help.

After we finished reading we went back through the book to look at the pictures again and I talked to my daughter about how it is important to have your own space, but how having friends is important too and it's nice to be kind to people and help them. She seemed to connect with this idea quite well and definitely understood that telling the colourful birds to go away wasn't very nice of the Go-Away bird.

I'm sure The Go-Away Bird will become a firm favourite on our shelf. It's a wonderful story, with beautiful illustrations and it provided a great jumping off point to discuss friendship themes.

Lovely little storyline told in rhyme with delicate illustrations and a moral - at some time we all need the help and support of friends. A perfect book to read and share with young children.

This was a lovely storyline that kept my interest throughout. It had a lovely moral lesson to be learned and the illustrations were stunning. This is definitely one book that you will adore adding to your collection today. An amazing classic you can enjoy reading again and again. Totally worth it.

The Go-Away bird repeatedly tells other birds to 'go away'. He thinks he wants to be left alone. But when he needs friends around, they still come to his aid as true friends will. The Go Away bird is suitably ashamed and together they survive to see another day.
Julia Donaldson uses her usual rhymes, sometimes more forced than at other times, but the repetition will encourage children to join in. All children will experience at some time the feeling that they want to be left alone. That's fine, as long as they are polite about it. But they do need friends to help in times of need.
Catherine Rayner's delicate illustrations accompany the text in a partnership which works well as the illustrations of the birds show their differences, yet the friendship of them all still comes to the rescue when needed. This is a book to read either one to one, or to a class and to discuss the feelings the lonely bird experienced as well as those of his friends.
It's also a picture book explaining the implications of Brexit which should be read by 52% of adults as well as children.

My five year old twins loved this book, especially when everyone came back to help. It’s a lovely story that resonates on lots of levels. A five minute read, it’s perfect for a bed time read and is a good prompt for conversations with older children about some of the themes in the book about kindness and wanting to be alone. A lovely book.

Three and a half stars.

In the scheme of things, this seems like a slight Julia Donaldson picture book. Inspired by an encounter with a real-life African bird, it's the simple tale of a character that shrugs off all attention and friendship – until a different kind of bird comes along. It's got just about enough drama, repetition and of course fully successful rhyme to make it appealing, but no magic to put it on the 'timeless' shelf. I didn't find much magic in the artwork, either – the way the trees are evoked through patterning, and some of the feather work, is marvellous, but the painted main characters didn't appeal. It's not bad, by any means, but I don't think this title is either of these ladies at their best.

Such a gorgeous book. Julia Donaldson just does not fail to bring new and exciting books. I loved this and I know children (and adults) of all ages will love it too.

This is a beautiful children's story with rhyming charm and enchanting illustrations. It has a wonderful theme of friendship that is a joy to read to children, be read by children, and for them to share with their friends. It is also a collectibles piece. The kaleidoscope colours of the birds mixed with the mixtures of emotions makes for a powerful story for any age.


I highly recommend this book and will be ordering my hard copy as a collectors item.