Spreading My Wings

The main theme of the story was wonderful. It was a great way to teach kids about their individuality. However, it depicts a budgie flying around outside without a harness or carrier. This may not seem like a big deal to most readers, but to bird owners, it’s a huge red flag. Kids imitate what they watch and read. Most pet birds who get outside are lost, never to be seen again. Far too often in groups online that center around lost birds, it’s because a child opened the window, door, or went outside with the bird on them.

An interesting way to make children embrace and be proud of their differences.I do worry for the pet budgies of little children who might try to take them to school in their pockets but otherwise a great book!

I received the paperback version of this charming story that's message is to be true to yourself and your friends.The basic premise is that a boy has a parrot friend, Rayf, who he does everything with until he goes to the holiday club and notices none of the other children have a parrot. He hides Rayf in his coat, which makes both of them a little sad, and goes to play with the other children. All is going well until they go outside to do some gardening and some seed is spilt. Of course, Rayf swops down to eat it and the other children realise that the boy knows Rayf. However, it all ends well as the other children accept both the boy and Rayf and they continue to play together.The story is nicely written and there's not a great deal of text. The illustrations are nice and bright and tell the story nicely alongside the text. The story was written by Great British Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain.Priced at £6.99 at the time of this Amazon Vine review, this seems a good price for such a heartwarming story with an important message for young children in that it is more important to be true to yourself than to try and fit in with others.

There are a lot of books for children today that are about self-confidence and 'Spreading My Wings' is one such book. It is the story of a young boy that loves his budgie and takes it everywhere, even taking it into school. Suddenly he realises that other kids don't have birds and he feels awkward. However, we all learn to be ourselves and the kids love the bird. Taking a pet into class is not a great idea in the real world but you get the idea in the book.The story is pretty simple and works for a child that is not sure about starting lessons or joining a new group. As a parent you can discuss the meaning behind the book i.e., be yourself and people will welcome you. The design is simple and in keeping with the messaging. I am not convinced that this book works as a simple storybook, but as a message story it is a good tool. It would also work well in a classroom or group setting as a way of getting the message across to all.

This is lovely. Cute illustrations throughout this sweet, non-rhyming story. It can be read as a story about how a budgie is a quirky pet to take to school or can be read more deeply. deeply and with time to discuss it covers all the ups and downs of wanting to fit in versus needing to be yourself. A fun, useful and empowering story for children. Our four year old liked talking about the illustrations while her older seven and ten year old brothers wanted to chat about the feelings the main character experiences and how to help him. Great. Glad we trialled this picture book. Read more