Loveykins
Following a blustery night, Angela Bowling finds a baby bird blown out of his nest. Her sense of duty compels her to wrap him up carefully in her scarf and take him home. She names him Augustus and he quickly becomes more to her than just a bird to be looked after. He's her little Loveykins.
She stuffs him with gourmet foods like creamed carrots and chocolate éclairs. She wraps him tightly in shawls and fine sweaters so he won't catch cold, and parades him around town in a fancy stroller, taking care to protect him from the rain and the sun.
Augustus is growing larger and rounder and soon requires a special garden shed to house him. He seems content enough…until another night brings great gales of wind and Augustus is blown free of the blankets and sweaters and garden shed. What will happen now, when Augustus takes off into the air and realizes the view is a good deal different—and more satisfying—from up above?
From best-selling author-illustrator Quentin Blake, Children's Laureate of the United Kingdom and winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and a Bologna Ragazzi Award, comes the charming story of an improbable friendship between a determined, eccentric matron and a bird she rescues from a storm.
Author & Illustrator
Quentin Blake has earned an international reputation for his quirky, humorous drawings. The best-selling illustrator and author-illustrator of more than one hundred books and the recipient of numerous awards. In 1999, Blake was named the first Children's Laureate of the United Kingdom. Famous for his illustrations of Roald Dahl's beloved books, Blake has three books with Peachtree Publishers: Santa's Last Present, Loveykins, and Mrs. Armitage, Queen of the Road. He lives and works in England and France.
You can visit Quentin Blake’s website here.
Reviews
“Blake's images of Angela fretting and fawning over her beloved bird are hilarious, revealing a range of exaggerated expressions on the face of the wild-eyed critter, who seems to know exactly how ludicrous he looks.... Appealingly offbeat, this droll tale is classic Blake.” ―Publishers Weekly, * STARRED REVIEW *
“...in the hands of a master like Blake, this relationship between an unconventional woman and a young bird, unmediated by softening agents, feels real and good and weird.... Add Blake's idiosyncratic watercolors, which inspire affection and sympathy, and you have the rare eccentric/endearment nexus that emits its own strange wonderful light.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“While the story is told with Blake's characteristic lighthearted charm and the illustrations are rife with comic detail, the issue of love that stifles rather than saves is handled with sensitivity.” ―School Library Journal

