Birdbrain Amos

by Michael Delaney

Book Overview

Poor Amos! He hired a tick bird to eat the bugs off his back so he could be like all the other hippos. There's just one problem. Kumba, his tick bird, takes it a bit too literally when Amos tells her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399236147
• ISBN13: 9780399236143
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Philomel Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.7"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

For Pre-Tweens, yeah, yeah, yeah!

This funny little story featuring animal characters is targeted toward a pre-tween audience, that is children who are no longer preschoolers and not yet tweens (8-12). This humorous treasure was one I discovered by accident - someone who knows I am a Beatles' fan mentioned it because an avian character sings "She Loves You." Naturally that sparked my interest and I admit I loved the part with "She Loves You" and many pre-tweens will get a Beatle lesson from this book. If you read this book to children, you might encourage a Beatle sing a long wherein you teach Beatle songs and make music part of the story. That will appeal to more ages. Amos is an indistinct hippo who fades into the scenery. Once he discovers he is covered with insects, he places an ad for an insectivorous bird to clean him up. The baboons holler out Amos' ad until Kumba, the Beatle Fan Bird responds. Maybe this is reading too much into this cute little story, but Kumba shows some autistic features, in that she takes everything literally; jokes go right over her head; she does not understand personal space and builds her nest on -- you guessed it, AMOS! There are some funny parts, such as the bird baby shower which Amos unwittingly hosts; Kumba's mate Akka, who is the Average Joe you have a beer and a chat with and the interaction between hippo and birds. Thanks to Kumba and her weirdly named daughters, Amos learns just how to be a real friend and accept differences, bug covered and all. Not only that, he learns to appreciate the Beatles, yeah, yeah, yeah!

A great book for kids!

This is a truly delightful book. I've read it to my 5 and 8-year old. They were so gripped by the story I had to finish the book in 1 sitting. The conversations between the characters were hilarious. The kids enjoyed the part where Amoeba mispronounces her 'r' with 'w'. I think, this book can be used for a stage play.

Little bird, little bird, please fly, please go!

There's a nebulous age children reach where they still want to read fun animal stories, but they're no longer comfortable with picture or "easy" books. They want chapters and they want them now. Normally, I'd steer such staunch advocates of our animal brethren to "Charlotte's Web" or pretty much anything by Dick King-Smith. But for a few, for a very few indeed, I might draw out Michael Delaney's little trumpeted but sweet, "Birdbrain Amos". As far as I can determine it never won much in the way of awards and the only reason that I ever discovered it myself was that I polled a listserv of children's librarians for their favorite unappreciated children's books. It was one of the many listed. There is nothing flashy about "Birdbrain Amos". Nothing that necessarily sets it apart from any other books and nothing about it that remains particularly memorable. It does, however, fill a hard to reach age range and has enough lovely pen-and-ink drawings to give even the most reluctant of readers something to enjoy. Amos is a very average hippo. He has always been the kind of fellow you'd nod to in the mornings but never pay all that much attention to. That all changes when it has occurs to Amos that he is covered in bugs. After placing an ad for a bug-eating-bird (he has the local baboons yell it from the treetops) he meets and immediately hires Kumba. Kumba's nice enough, but she and Amos tend to have some communication problems. For example, Kumba never gets her employer's jokes and when Amos tells the little bird to make herself at home, she takes him far too literally. Soon Amos is sporting a jaunty (and entirely unwanted) bird's nest on his forehead with three eggs. The more Amos tries to establish his authority over his tick bird (and her seriously unemployed husband) the less he actually accomplishes. It's only when Kumba is succeeded by her daughter Ameoba (don't ask) that Amos begins to understand why friendship may be a bit better than being cool amongst your friends. This is basically a kind of "Horton Hatches the Egg" for the older set. Amos unwittingly babysits and half-raises Kumba's third chick and as a result he grows oddly attached to the little critter. The book has a kind of dry wit to it that both kids and adults will appreciate. I was especially fond of Kumba's husband Akka. Akka's the kind of guy you meet at a party who immediately feels that he has some kind of an instant connection with you (a connection you yourself do not feel). He's constantly telling Amos how much they have in common, a statement comical even when you get around the fact that we're talking about huge mammals and tiny birds. Delaney's writing and characters are enjoyable, as are situations like Amos unwillingly hosting 76 birds for Kumba's baby shower, as well as caterers (birds bringing bugs on leaves), 3 African thrushes (the band), and a pelican (the comedian). The story itself suffers a little from the fact that you are so complete

Funny!

My 8-year-old and I both enjoyed the humor in this quick, sweet book. I look forward to reading it again with my 5-year-old.