I have to tell you, the minute I saw the cover of this book, I was smitten.
And then the first spread captured what was left of my heart:
Nerdy Birdy and Vulture are best friends but they don’t see eye to eye. (Illustrators take note of the Hello Birdy lunchbox.)
Nerdy Birdy and Vulture love making fun of each other’s lunch, they make silly faces, and they take goofy pictures of each other, using their cell phones.
But one day, something comes between Nerdy Birdy and Vulture. Something called “Tweetster.”
“What does it do?” asked Vulture.
“Lots of things. 1) Collect tons of friends online who may, or may not, text you back. 2) Play games with them all. 3) Tweet messages and pictures for them all to see!”
“Sounds awesome,” said Vulture, even though it really sounded kind of dull.
Nerdy Birdy becomes obsessed with gaining “Tweetster” friends. A flamingo. An ostrich, whom he plays Angry Worms with. A puffin who lives in Iceland.
Vulture’s response?
“You’re friends with a vulture!! And she’s dying of boredom!!”
Nerdy Birdy becomes obsessed with making “Tweetster” friends. Five hundred in one week.
Then comes one of my favorite spreads of the entire book.
Notice how clueless Nerdy Birdy is to Vulture’s discontent. And it’s done in such a hilarious way!
“Did you realize I can fit your whole body in my beak? I could eat you in one bite if I wanted.”
Nerdy Birdy’s response?
“Hm. That’s nice.”
But the final test of this pair’s friendship? When Nerdy Birdy Tweets a photo of Vulture eating something dead for lunch, including a caption that deeply embarrasses her.
Can Nerdy Birdy ever repair their relationship? Well, first he has to find out that his Tweetster friends are nowhere near as friendly as his real live best friend.
This cautionary tale has a happy and hilarious ending, one where these two friends find a new way to compromise and interact with each other.
And if it’s possible to fall in love with a vulture, I did. She stole my heart.
Themes: Friendship, responsible social media use
Title: Nerdy Birdy Tweets
Author: Aaron Reynolds
Illustrator: Matt Davies
Publisher: Roaring Book Press, A Neal Porter Book, 2017
You can find other fabulous picture books highlighted on Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday blog.
Jilanne Hoffmann 
Such a cute and yet relevant story! Aren’t we all making the same “tweety” mistakes, at least didn’t we all at some point? The illustrations are really adorable, Matt’s got an excellent sense of humor 🙂
Yes, I think we are all smiling with recognition. Apps like Twitter and Facebook AND WordPress are all designed to make people return to them over and over again. We cannot help but want to be “liked.” But we need to use the executive portion of our brains to make better decisions, to realize that “a friend/bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” Ha, I couldn’t help myself, LOL. Thanks for stopping by!
So true, Jilanne. Now in addition “comfort food” there are also “comfort networks”. And yet somehow the executive portion the brain still just turns into jello at the sight of likes xD
Great book…sure to be a winner!
It’s already on my “best of” shelf. I am so in love with vulture. Who knew that one could fall in love with a vulture?
I love when authors create a loving connection to an unlikely character! 😁
Sooo cute and clever and GORGEOUS illustrations.
Yes! And the ending is so spot on. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser.
I love Nerdy Birdy! Can’t wait to see this one!
He’s very huggable. But then, so is vulture. I think it’s a testament to how fully developed and sympathetic both characters are.
A children’s book for the new millennium! And Nerdy Bird is so cute.
Yes, I think this book will get lots of play in schools during library time or read aloud time in the classroom. I can even see kids doing it as a play for a small group.
Love love love those illustrations!
I’ve got to think that the author was just thrilled with the illustrations. I would have been!