Teaching Eddie to Fly - Katarína Macurová - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Katarína Macurová

GENRE: Children's Picture Book

PUBLICATION DATE: July 16, 2019

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A picture book about one animal trying to help his friend to fly. Probably among the funniest picture books I have read! Love the story, the message, the ending, and the illustrations. A couple of the jokes might be understood better by adults, but plenty of learning opportunities here. Recommended.

Plot Preview:

Arthur the bear is concerned that his friend Eddie, a “bird”, doesn’t ever fly but walks everywhere. When he asks Eddie about it, Eddie responds that no one taught him how to fly. So Arthur decides that he will teach his friend to fly. Thus begins a series of lectures and practical sessions on flying from the bear to the “bird”. But as adult readers can guess, teaching this “bird” to fly ain’t gonna be an easy task! After a long series of debacles, Arthur decides to ask other birds for help. Do you think Arthur will succeed?

Don’t you just love it when picture books put their point across without sounding preachy? This book does a marvellous job not only keeping kids entertained but also educating them on several facts and life lessons.

Given that Arthur is a bear, it is hilarious to see him try many techniques to help his friend to fly when he himself obviously hasn’t ever done it. Even funnier is to see Eddie follow his lessons sincerely with his safety helmet and knee guards firmly in position. One of my favourite scenes in the book is when Arthur seeks advice from other birds. As luck would have it, he bumps into the most unlikely set of birds. This scene was really smart and funny, but one of the birds didn’t fit into the pattern. I can guess why this choice was made (limited simpler options in the other set), but it might bug some readers.

Just when I thought Arthur finally got the point, the ending twisted the plot into a whole new, even sillier direction. It’s the perfectly comedic finale to such a light-hearted story.

Many of the jokes rely on our knowing that Eddie is an ostrich, so obviously he cannot fly. Some younger kids might not know this fact, so while they would still get the humour, they wouldn’t get the cleverness of it all unless an adult clarifies it. (All the more important as the word ‘ostrich’ isn't used anywhere in the narrative.) The same applies to the above-mentioned birds scene. So this book definitely needs to be read with some adult, unless the child knows their avian trivia well.

The text is quite limited, with only a couple of lines on each page, and written in a nicely rounded legible typeface.

I wish the book had some back matter explaining some basic facts about ostriches and also about the other birds that Arthur meets on his quest. A minor requirement, but it certainly would have helped, especially if adults themselves aren’t aware of certain bird facts that are essential for the jokes to hit the right spot.

Despite this, I still think the book has plenty to offer. Arthur’s attempts helps little ones ponder on how far to go to help friends, on whether the help is really required, on whether all of us are supposed to have the same skillsets, and on what makes each of us special. The variety of birds is an added treat.

The illustrations are the icing on the cake. All the pages are colourful and vibrant. And Arthur’s and Eddie’s expressions speak volumes!

Definitely recommended. This would be a marvellous book to have at homes as well as in classrooms. This is officially aimed at ages 3-6, but given the lessons involved, it would also work for slightly older kids, say till 8 years of age.

My thanks to Albatros Media for providing the DRC of “Teaching Eddie to Fly” via Edelweiss+. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.