BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Meet fellow artists Roth and her
avian counterpart, the bowerbird.

Blending memoir and nonfiction with
deep ruminations on what constitutes an artist, Roth presents parallels between
her life as an illustrator and the life of an Australian bowerbird. The bowerbird
uses both colorful natural materials and “manufactured junk” to elaborately
decorate a bower to entice a mate, which Roth presents as a kind of bird “artist’s
studio.” It’s heady stuff, and those looking for straight nonfiction should
look elsewhere, as most of the factual information on bowerbirds appears in the
backmatter. Those willing to follow the metaphor will marvel at the
similarities between the two as Roth deftly depicts the bird creating his bower
while she metafictively creates this book. Bold, decisively cut collages
capture the artists at work, highlighting their shared tools, their uses of
artistic principles like space and color, and their equal penchant for
collecting “unusual objects of manageable size.” Bird and human are further
connected by the black bird’s lush feathers and the white woman’s feathery gray
hair. Occasionally, the profusion of stuff feels dizzying, and sometimes
comparisons feel lofty—“We each try hard to give our delicate compositions some
solidity”—but introspective readers will be satisfied by the reflective nature
of the text and the behind-the-scenes look at dual artistic processes.

Roth persuasively argues that “all
artists…seek praise,” and this ambitious hybrid demands to be seen.
(bibliography) (Picture book/memoir. 4-8)