The Starling’s Song

This is a very sweet little story, beautifully illustrated in black and white. An ideal book to read to under fives.
This simple tale of a starling loving all the beauty in the countryside around him wants to sing a song about it, he talks to the other birds and they each tell him to add something dear to them to his song.
A lovely story by Octavia Wolters.

This is so cute! I loved the style of illustration (wood cut images in black and white). The writing is super beautiful and well done. It's about a starling's that want to sing and goes asking to everyone what should it sings about. In the end the song made is a praise to the nature, the sky, the water, the trees and life as a whole. Really cute! Definetly would read again.

*Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this eARC*

The Starling’s Song is simple yet wonderful story about the interconnectivity of nature. It’s about taking time to see the beauty in all things including ourselves.

I think this book is a brilliant story for all ages and one I can’t wait to buy and keep to re-read over and over again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Children's Books for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

The Starling's Voice is a short children's story about a starling who wants to sing about all the wonderful things that he sees every day. Before he does this, he decides to speak with all manners of birds in the forest to compile all the things he shouldn't forget in his song.

This book is truly beautiful! The art is whimsical, and the story is thoughtful. It emphasises the importance of appreciating the small things in life, specifically the nature that surrounds us all (a.k.a., stopping to smell the roses of life). I would have loved this book as a child, and it still is heartwarming to read now.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a unique story with an important message to read your kids before bed!

This is a warm, inspirational story one that I wish everyone would embrace. The starling has this wish to write a song, and so she tells every bird she comes across of her dream and they cheer her on, and add more beautiful things to fuel her song and in the end you have such an awesome song about nature and the birds that encounter it.
Visually, the artwork is appealing and it's such an awesome book for children, makes me wish as adults we had more of this too.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

A cute little children's story about what a starling and other birds find beautiful in the world. The story was lovely, with each bird talking about something that was special to its species, giving you a little insight into the differences between bird species and also just some general things with a lovely little message.
I loved the illustrations! They were gorgeous and made a nice change from all the really bright children's stories. It was completely in black and white except for the yellow beak and legs of the starling but they were still cheerful illustrations with lots of lovely soft patterns and beautiful birds.

This is simply gorgeous. Beautiful illustrations and such lyrical writing. I can't wait to own a copy of this, it deserves to become a classic read for children.

It is a delighfully charming book about stopping to see the beauty around us. The pictures are simple but stunning. This is certainly one to treasure with a very important message

Beautiful drawing, simple yet strong, very like the text. Every page delightful to the eye. It’s only 17 pages long so sing out loud, just like the starling. I’t beautiful to the ear.

A lovely story ideal for young children. I read this book with my 9 year old son who is obsessed with birds. He really enjoyed the poetic style the story was told in. Story and illustrations are really wonderful

A strikingly attractive book, the artwork is superb and the presentation is understated. This is a real gem which would appeal to both children and adults. A starling wonders what to include in his song, so he asks the other birds for their thoughts. They each highlight reasons to be thankful in the world and the song is complete. This is a joyful and uplifting story, that would make a great gift.

Gorgeous, sweet little book. The drawings are stunning, as is the way the text is integrated. I would buy this for any child I knew.

What a beautiful book. The simple but effective illustrations look striking though the book. I especially liked the small details like the reflection of the text in the water..

What a lovely, whimsical read... how often do we stop to notice the little things and celebrate the tiny miracles of everyday life? Lovely read and accompanying illustrations.

The Starling’s Song by Octavie Wolters is a beautifully illustrated children's book with an important message about the beauty of the world around us and how we often need to see through each other's eyes to appreciate that beauty. Would definitely read this again and enjoyed it tremendously as an adult, also!

The Starling's Song by Octavie Wolters is a heartwarming and clever, even witty illustrated storybook. It's a lovable booklet for children who have just learned to read and of course, it's great for pre-schoolers for devouring the pictures with their eyes and listening to the story. Actually, it's a fun distraction for anyone, just saying.

The black-and-white illustrations are amazing. Everything is monochrome, only our hero's beak and legs are yellow. It makes it easy to spot our protagonist. My favorite page is when the starling talks to the kingfisher above the water and everything is mirrored, even the text. Grab a mirror and go codebreaking if you don't believe me.

As for the story, a starling is enraptured by the beauty of our planet and wants to sing a song about it. He asks other bird breeds for advice on what to include in his song. Every piece of advice reflects the given bird's "personality." They often add something wise or consolatory about life on Earth. I appreciate the peacock's self-confidence, I suppose it's a good thing to learn to be self-confident early on.

Thank you NetGalley and Pushkin Press for sending this book for review consideration. I read a DRC. All opinions are my own.

This book is absolutely gorgeous. The black and white woodcut-like illustrations are accented with tiny pops of yellow and give so much detail to the birds and scenery with simple lines. I would hang these illustrations on my wall as artwork! The story is a celebration of nature and delightful imagining of the wisdom birds could give . I particularly loved the scene with the kingfisher where the text is cleverly mirrored underneath to show the pond without drawing the water itself.

The Starling's Song by Octavie Wolters— translation by Michele Hutchinson— is a beautifully written children's book about seeing the world's beauty and appreciating the views of others. The Starling receives many suggestions from the other animals, my favorite being:

"Don't forget to sing about the flowers when they wither. Their petals turn to paper, and you can hear their voices rustling in the wind. They say nothing lasts forever, but it doesn't matter because something new comes instead."

I would absolutely recommend this book to all the little kiddos in my family. Five stars!!

Wow wow wow this book is gorgeous! Not only are the illustrations stunning and unique (the page with the kingfisher where the words are reflected in the water was so fun!) but the story itself is lovely. A celebration of the earth and nature in all its beauty. I loved the reminder that even the things we overlook such as rocks or dying flowers offer so much value. It’s a great study in perspective and so wonderful to teach little ones the importance of appreciating all of nature.

I think the flow of this story was beautifully captured and the words about embracing who you are and things that aren’t shiny and new. The writing was a little harsh at points probably due to it being translated from Dutch. But a great emotional read to teach children how to love everything.

Just as The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse was my favorite read of 2021, The Starling’s Song is easily my choice for favorite read of 2023.

The illustrations are breathtaking, and unlike anything I've seen in a children's book before.

The messages are pure and insightful. We're only given maybe one sentence per page, but every word counts.

This is a real stop-and-smell-the-roses kind of book, and one that everyone, young, old or in-between should take the time to read.

This has to be one of the most beautiful childrens books i have ever read! Those sketch style drawings are nothing short of adorable and very exquisite.

The story itself is so beautiful i would imagine any child could adore this. This has transported me back to when i was a young child. My favourite off all the birds was and are Starlings. I used to have a little book where i would note down all their yearly going ons. We had some nest in the roof once and i got the pleasure of seing those little green coloured eggs and in time hearing and seing the babys grow. Fabulous and fascinating birds.
The way they group together and fly is very hypnotising. I remember sitting with my friends saying what we thought their formations looked like. Like we do with passing clouds.

This is a very special little book that can be enjoyed by all ages.

Many thanks to the Author, Pushkin press,Pushkin childrens Books and Netgalley for the free ARC. Also the beautiful trip down memory lane. It was a pleasure to leave my review.

Publication date 12/9/23
Review written 16/8/23

A starling decides to sing about all the amazing things he sees around him. To ensure he includes everything, he asks other birds for suggestions, and they all provide him with ideas, such as rocks, trees, the night and other things.

The illustrations are fantastic, and reminded me of woodcuts, while the birds and all the natural beauty they mention made me a soothing read.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Pushkin Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

The Starling's Song is the perfect book, with absolutely stunning writing & gorgeous illustrations.

It tells the beautiful story of the Starling's song and the images of nature that flood ones mind when listening to the melodic tunes.

It explores the little wonders of nature, instilling admiration and appreciation of the world around us from a young age.

A big thank you to NetGalley & Pushkin Press for the DRC

What a gorgeous book! The pictures are absolutely stunning and so effective in black and white with just a hint of colour for the starling. A read again and again story of valuing the opinions and ideas of others as well as our own. A lovely way to introduce children to the idea of taking a moment to pause and enjoy what is around them. I can't wait to share it.

This is a gorgeous book - filled with longing and the love of memories and how to keep them and the music we make to both keep and enhance those memories.

The starling loves where he is and he wants to sing a song about it all, but he doesn't want to forget anything or anyone, so he begins to ask all his friends what he needs to remember and sing about and in the end, his song includes everyone, including his own and is filled with the love he has and the memories of all the beauty he has seen.

This is just a fantastic book and the illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to a story that is full of all the good things. Very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Octavie Wolters, Michele Hutchinson - Translator, and Pushkin Press/Pushkin Children's Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Simply but beautiful prose and illustrations, celebrating all the wonder of nature from the perspective of the birds

Starlings love to imitate the tunes around them and the concept in the book expands into the starling taking idea from his friends, showing the beauty of nature and then some.

While this is a beautifully illustrated book for children, I feel like the “targeted” audience is for older children, not younger as it's being marketted or advertised on retail websites.

I love how kids can look at ordinary things in an extraordinary way though and the author really does portray that through the ilustrations.

I am awed by the gorgeous illustration. It's distinct and stylistic. It suits the story really well. This book taught me how to look the beautiful things in life despite the harsh situation we're in.

"Don't forget to sing about life," said the duck

"Life can be seem difficult sometimes but it's the most simple thing there is. The only thing you have to do is exist. That's more than enough."

I feel like sometimes we forget to breathe and live in the moment, and just be. So the message this book aims for is really sweet from my adult perspective. Highly recommend!