My Dad's a Birdman (review)

Lizzie's mother's death seems to have sent her father over the edge, as he now proposes to enter the Great Human Bird Competition with nothing more than "wings and faith." Though initially skeptical, Lizzie is eventually won over by the beauty of her father's homemade wings (constructed from real bird feathers of varying types, string, wire, cardboard, and other odds and ends) and by his naïve but persistent belief that he will be able to fly. Despite the well-meaning attempts at interference from Lizzie's Auntie Doreen (who serves up her leaden dumplings in an attempt to keep the pair grounded), the father-daughter duo proceeds-but can they really reach the skies? Set in working-class northern England, this unusual story carries strong hints of Roald Dahl (though it's considerably milder than some of Dahl's works), and despite Almond's occasional misstep on the wire between realism and whimsy, the end result works surprisingly well. Lizzie is a sympathetic heroine, and her struggle to keep the family boat upright against the current of her father's apparent mental imbalance will particularly strike a chord with kids who face similar parental shortcomings. Dunbar's pencil, watercolor, and collage artwork is both delicately expressive and solidly substantive, and the scenes with dot-eyed Lizzie and her dad are sweet without being saccharine (Dad is especially endearing in his blue-striped jammies, sporting rumply hair and his lovely homemade wings). The buxom Auntie Doreen is a hoot in her flowered pinnie and bright blue high-heeled boots. Kids who like the fantastical elements of Dahl will flock to this; wing-making is optional.