Barb the Bird of Hope

by Zowie Norris

Formats

Softcover

$14.35

E-Book

$4.99

Softcover

$14.35

Book Details

Language : English

Publication Date : 6/18/2021

Format : Softcover

Dimensions : 8.5x8.5

Page Count : 44

ISBN : 9781665590310

Format : E-Book

Dimensions : N/A

Page Count : 44

ISBN : 9781665590303

About the Book

A story of friendship, acceptance and hope. In a laburnum tree in the Centre of Bretton Park, lives a unique bird called Barb. Her beauty and originality attract the attention of the other birds and park visitors, who see her as a symbol of hope, bringing them much comfort and happiness. She is loved by many and in return is grateful for her life and her friends. When things take a turn for the worst, Barb’s instinct is to fly away from her troubles … Will things get better? Can hope be restored?

About the Author

Customer Reviews

A wonderfully current story covering the attitudes to what ever life throws at you there’s a positive and human reaction making you feel good

Graham Ford
I like the book so much

Emmanuel C Igwurube
*REVIEW* Thank you so much Zowie Norris for providing me with a copy of Barb the Bird of Hope. Please take a moment to appreciate the adorable cover of this book. The author has designed/illustrated the book all by herself. This is such a cute story with a powerful message. It’s a story of a beautiful and colourful bird named Barb; who once used to be a pet of Mr. Davis and had always dreamed of the world outside her cage. Finally, when Mr. Davis lets her go, she quickly makes new bird and human friends. Everyone adores her because she’s pretty and radiates positivity. Her human friends visit her daily and her life is wonderful, until one day, suddenly all humans disappear. The author has done an amazing job at explaining the sudden pandemic situation. During the pandemic, a thunderstorm hits Barb’s home and she flies away due to hopelessness, but when she stops to rest for a while on the window of the hospital, she sees that humans are full of hope and fighting the pandemic bravely. The scenes at the hospital give her courage and confidence and she finally returns to her home in hope of better days to come again. This story gives a great message of staying strong during tough times. It’s important to stay hopeful and fight the challenges with bravery. The story has a great moral and teaches all of us a prime lesson to never lose hope, no matter what the circumstances. Life is full of ups and downs; after every thunderstorm comes a bright shiny sunny day, similarly after every hardship comes ease. This is a quick, intelligent and interesting read. The author has done a very pronounced job with the details and the scenes along with such eye catching illustrations. Children, as well as adults, should read it and I highly recommend this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 @norris.zowie #barbthebirdofhope #zowienorris #bookreview #review #childrensbook #childrensbookillustration #ebookreview #illustrations #graphics #cutestory #cuteimages #bird #barb #hope #yellow #purple #yellowandpurple #beautifulbird #pandemic #bookstagram #booklover #bookgeek #bookaddict #booksaremagic #ebookphotography #colours #colorful #vibrant #brave #neverlosehope

Aishba
A beautiful story with stunning illustrations. A great read for any child who feels anxious about the fears and worries that the pandemic has brought. Everyone needs to have hope in their lives and this story brings that to you in the form of a unique bird named 'Barb'.

Phoebe Rose
A beautifully written book with exquisite illustrations. Ideal for helping older children to discuss their hopes and fears . It is also extremely relevant as it features the pandemic . I highly recommend it.

Kate Gaunt
A heartwarming read with beautiful illustrations. The story is underpinned with a strong message of hope and kindness. Provides lots of great discussion points for reading with young children alongside really effective use of enriching vocabulary. Highly recommended.

Angela Murphy
A lovely book with beautiful illustrations. .

Chris
I read this book with my 8 and 4 year old. We loved the beautiful illustrations along with the descriptive text that allowed the story to come alive in their minds! We loved meeting all the different characters along the way. It shows us there is still hope even after difficulties in which we can all overcome if we see the best in the world and its people!

D Cartwright
I absolutely loved reading this book. The words and illustrations are so inspiring. The author has truly captured the current anxiety regarding the pandemic and presented a message and image of hope for the future. The book is written in a gentle and informative way. I would recommend it to everyone, children and adults. Well done on this unique book. It would make a perfect addition to any school library or as a gift. I had access to a free digital copy in order that I could provide an honest review.

Lucinda Bloom
Barb the Bird of Hope is truly a story for our times. Zowie Norris did a lovely job in both her writing, and illustrations. In short, it's the story of the world getting along, supporting one another, succeeding through hard times. But this message, while obvious to adults, is delivered in a way that would be subtle to a child. I can imagine reading this to a 5- or 6-year old, and watching as their concern for the difficulties Barb encounters turns into pleasure at the main character's never-ending optimism and faith in those around her. And in case you're wondering why I didn't give 5 stars, the reason is simply that I reserve that rating for Mark Twain, J.K. Rowling, and the like. We all have to have something to which we can aspire!

Diane Bakos
A wonderful children’s book with a really positive message of hope linked to the recent challenges of life. The beautiful and fascinating illustrations bring colour and joy to the book for everyone and help younger children to access the story through pictures.

Kelly
What an absolutely stunning story filled with love and kindness. At 43 years old I didn’t want the story to end, so I’ll just read it again every time I need to remind myself that love and kindness matters more than anything. Beautifully written and such an important relevant message right now for all ages.

Penny Hudd
This is a nice tale for children about an unusual bird dealing with change and turmoil in her life. It is a challenge to portray an animal in a tale (even a tale intended for children). You don’t want the bird to seem too smart or chatty. A bird can physically interact with other humans and animals (and I think this book does that well), but it can’t really communicate; it can merely observe surroundings and occasionally have private thoughts. Also, a bird cannot really understand human structures (i.e., it can’t read words on signs). On the other hand, birds (like children) can instinctively grasp realities that adults might miss. Several things stand out about Barb the Bird of Hope. First, the illustrations are incredible, full of eye-catching details, light rainbow colors and nice & crazy perspectives. The pictures of the birds were particularly lovely. The drawings seem to be done in pencil or crayon — a style that young readers could relate to easily. I uploaded two screenshots which demonstrate the nice colors and textures and perspectives. Actually most of the illustrations are much simpler than what I uploaded with this review — a lone bird flying down a road, a bird sitting on the same park bench as a doctor. Second, the book portrays society during time of COVID — showing hospitals, deserted parks, humans cooped in their homes. The society portrayed in this book seems familiar even to the youngest of us; it maintains an appropriate balance between mentioning COVID and dwelling too much on it. In a way, the book will serve as a time capsule for that year or two where everybody (even children) had their lives upended by COVID. Because of this timeless quality, I could easily imagine this book being read long after COVID fades away. Third, while the book does mention COVID without getting too melodramatic, one of the “scarier” parts of the book is having the park (and the laburnum tree) damaged by torrential rain and how the birds try to cope. This resonates with people of all ages — especially in places that experience flooding or other natural disasters. In fact, the book weaves the two “scary things” into the bird’s story, offering a way to see the pandemic in a bigger context of environmental threats. Environmentally-minded readers might view the loss of species habitat as another problem alluded to here; bird species are constantly having to adapt to changing circumstances. No wonder that the story has to end on a hopeful note. The writing is conversational, although the vocabulary is certainly not dumbed down for children. (Ex. perching, exquisite, destruction, torrential, engaged, transform, symbolise). It’s a great story book to read with children. If I were to guess, it’s ideal for readers 5-8 years of age, but there’s enough complex story and vocabulary to interest kids up to the age of 11. It’s a pretty book to look at — to the point that all readers (even pre-readers) would love flipping through the pages. My main “complaint” is that as an adult is that I had no idea what a laburnum tree looks like! I was genuinely surprised to find a photograph of one on the Internet — it’s beautiful! Although several illustrations show the tree, they were “miniaturized” to allow for more elements to be included together. Now that I know what a laburnum tree looks like, I wish it had been introduced earlier in the story — if only so readers could get a sense of what it looked like BEFORE THE STORM and AFTER THE STORM. SUMMARY: With amazing colorful illustrations, this story dramatizes how two events (the COVID pandemic and the destruction of a laburnum tree in park) seem to a unique bird with violet tail feathers.

Robert Nagle
"Barb the Bird of Hope" discussed the connection between humans and a sweet bird named Barb. Barb loved her humans and missed them when they suddenly disappeared from the park. She soon discovered why. (Why hidden to avoid spoilers.) "Barb the Bird of Hope" has moments of sadness and happiness. It's a story that'll hopefully get your children to open up about their feelings.

Donna Glass
This a cute and adorable story. I loved the way the author approaches a serious world-wide problem in a kid-friendly. This is the perfect book for children. I highly recommend buying a copy

Reuben Shupp
My 5year old daughter and I really enjoyed Barb🌈🐤🙌, it is a wonderful story with such a strong, evocative, and heart-warming message. The illustrations are beautiful and the characters are so relatable. We really liked Dr Caverleri and Albert (no spoilers here, you’ll have to get the book to find out why!). It is a wonderful achievement to weave the pandemic into the theme of the story in such an intelligent way, and the story has both tender and poignant moments whilst also providing a special tribute to our healthcare workers. We particularly enjoyed the ending and the touching message of happiness and hope - we’d love to see a sequel Zowie! Highly recommended to all readers!

Nigel McGee
After reading “ Barb The Bird Of Hope,” even a grumpy old man like me had to wipe away a tear secretly. Barb, the colorful and unusual bird living in Bretton Park, can melt the heart of every child and grown-up. Zowie Norris portrays Barb’s good-natured optimism in such an endearing way that your heart starts flying alongside the bird when she swoops through the sky when the weather is bad, brightening the day with her “golden silhouette and gleaming plumage,” cheering up animals and people alike. All park visitors are enchanted when she sings, even the severe dr. Caverleri, working in the hospital next to the park. Her trust in the goodness of the people is so strong that others birds dare t come closer to humans when they scatter nuts and other treats. Then, suddenly, this beautiful life comes to a halt. No visitors in the park. Silence reigns. Barb decides to fly into the city to investigate what is happening, but she finds the streets as deserted as the park. Only at the hospital’s entrance does she notice a frenzy of movement from cars, nurses, stretchers…It turns out that a vicious disease has spread. But Bar doesn’t lose hope for a brighter future, not even when a violent storm rages in the park: “She could always see the positive side of things, no matter what the situation.” And so it turns out: Barb learns that her human friends are tidying up the storm-damaged park and dr. Caverleri is working on a vaccine that will protect against the terrible virus. “Barb The Bird Of Hope” is primarily intended for children, but this heartwarming parable has enough power to move their parents as they read it to them.

Bob Van Laerhoven
Thanks that book was amazing

Maddox
Beautiful written and illustrated book. When everything Barb knows suddenly changes, she sets out to find some hope that everything isn’t as bad as it seems. A great story that helps explore how people might be feeling during rough times, especially during the pandemic.

Mike Doyle

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