Seeing as this book is said to open the lines to help explain fried and loss to a child I’m just not sure how this is going to entirely work.

I understand the concept, a loss of an egg, no brother or sister and relating it to birds/chicks and trying to see this through the eyes of a child.

I’m just not convinced.

The illustrations were good, that’s why I upped it to a 3*

I don't know if this picture book would work for the intended audience. The "subtle metaphor" mentioned in the synopsis is probably too subtle for kids to get, while being not subtle enough for the adults reading it. (The nest even looks a bit like a uterus, and when it fails at the bottom, dropping the egg... Well, I'm not sure how that's going to play with women who've had miscarriages.)

Basically, Gabriel the bird is disappointed, but tries to cheer his mother up by flying around with her and looking at the scenery. I'm just not sure if that's enough for a book with this subject matter and theme. I don't think kids should feel responsible for their parents' emotional well-being, either, which is another reason why I'm hesitant to recommend this one.

The pictures are simple (maybe a little too simple) and bright, but I don't know if they'd be that appealing to kids. The use of birds in this case also leads to a disconnect between the text and illustrations, such as when the story says that Gabriel nestles in his mother's lap. Obviously, that's not something birds can do (and I'm glad the illustrator didn't even attempt to portray it)!

This is a bit of a miss for me. While the intent behind this book is good, I don't think the execution quite works.