A House for Every Bird by Megan Maynor (review)

"I drew all these birds," says our industrious protagonist happily. "And a house for every bird." Except her orderly plan for every bird to fit neatly into the house that visually matches it ("Red for red, tall for tall") turns out not to suit the birds at all—Orange Bird likes the cool vibe of the blue house, Small Bird wants room for all his cousins in a big house, and so on, and the more control the narrator tries to exert, the more the birds make their own plans for what suits them. Finally a dialogue with an informative avian makes her realize that she doesn't actually know what the birds want, and there's a way to find out: ask them. There are some obvious implications for dynamics outside of the fantasy-bird world as well, but the book lets those stay subtextual, instead giving lively voice to the narrator as she wrestles with her creations and exuberant dialogue to those creations ("We like what we like, darling. That's not difficult"). Digital illustrations alternate scrawled kid-style drawings with precisely lined, enjoyably distinctive portrayals of the dark-skinned girl and her fantastical feathered friends, giving audiences plenty of slyly humorous images to pore over. Use this to open a discussion on using words rather than assumptions, or as an introduction to the way art can go in unexpected directions.