“Author, Author! I have an important question!” the Little Book Bird chattered, landing on the table. “What is The Book About Birds, Part 1 really about? Is it just a book about birds? Or is it a book about me and the Wise Owl? I can’t quite work it out… Sometimes I hear it called just a book about birds. But we are in it. We travel through it, and… so much happens there. So many meetings… So many curious things… And…” the Little Book Bird went on, still chattering, with a little indignation in her voice.
“That really is an important question!” the Author replied. “Let’s try to work out what this book is actually about. Ready?”
“Of course I’m ready!” chirped the Little Book Bird.
“What would you say about this book yourself? What happens in it? What is it really about?”
“It is about me and the Wise Owl! About our first journey, invented by a nine-year-old boy who loves birds (How We Came to Be: The Story of the Little Book Bird and the Wise Owl). That is why the book turned out to be about birds. But it is also not only about birds… Now I’m confused!” the Little Book Bird stopped.
“You are not confused. You are saying it exactly right. The book really does introduce 15 different birds. But it is not an encyclopedia, not a textbook, not a reference book, and not a dry list of facts. Birds simply became the theme of the book, while your journey with the Wise Owl became the way to tell the story.”
“In this book, you and the Wise Owl appear for the first time as the main characters of the whole book-and-game world of LittleBookBirdAndWiseOwl. You travel through different places, meet different birds, watch them, and learn about their behavior and way of life. And readers travel with you, discovering birds through curious little situations.”
“That is exactly what happens!” chirped the Little Book Bird. “I learned so much! We saw so much, and the Wise Owl told me so many things! First we met a seagull by the sea. I had never seen the sea before, and I liked it very much. Then there was the meeting with the shrike. I was a little frightened then, because the shrike could have caught me too. Later we saved a lark from a hawk! And we met a titmouse too. She knows and remembers so many things! We traveled through a marsh and saw the crane’s dance. We met a hoopoe, with such a beautiful crest, and the Wise Owl told me an ancient Greek legend. We also met Mrs. Bustard, the heaviest flying bird in Europe! There were so many interesting meetings!”
“Through journeys like these, and through emotional stories, children can learn and remember important facts almost without noticing. They read about your adventures, wonder, worry, rejoice, observe, and little by little remember more than they expected. And after reading, the story turns into action: memory, attention, and observation activities, creative pages, coloring pages, cut-outs, or story-based online games on the website, created from your adventures. And while playing, they return to your journey again,” the Author continued.
“So the Wise Owl and I can travel anywhere, and readers can set off with us every time and discover something new!” the Little Book Bird said happily.
“Yes. Each next book can tell a story about something different. And The Book About Birds, Part 1 is the entrance into the book-and-game world of LittleBookBirdAndWiseOwl, where a story leads to observation, observation leads to action, and action leads to a new game, a new question, and a new journey. And this is not the end of the story. It is the beginning.”