The One About the Blackbird

One of CBC Books’ Best Canadian Children’s Books of 2025
A Globe and Mail Best Kids Book of 2025

“An instrument unites loved ones for a truly emotional effect across this time-spanning story… . With repeated phrasing and symbols, Florence’s careful prose captures the strength of the pair’s bond, and the way music can help to power memory, even amid its loss.” —STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly

“Mature-enough elementary schoolers should be touched by this understated heart tugger, but readers of any age will appreciate James’ mixed-media art, centered on a couple of long-limbed, tan-skinned guys who share, along with a love of music, unkempt hairstyles across the decades… . A hymn to intergenerational ties.” —Kirkus Reviews

”[A] quiet and gentle picture book in which a young boy wishes to learn guitar from his grandfather… . Florence’s words are soothing, and James’s illustrations work wonderfully with the text; muted warm colors bring the simplicity a story like this needs to thrive. Perhaps this is best for the shelves intended to help grandparents seeking to connect with the young generation.” —School Library Journal

“The mix of materials in the collage and acrylic paintings gives a dimensional appearance to some of the pictures, enhancing the visual interest… . This gentle story will be appreciated for the warm intergenerational bond it depicts.” —Booklist

“Melanie Florence helps us see that change does not mean loss, just a reconfiguration that can be just as rich as the original… . Whether the boy is hanging out with his grandfather, struggling to hold a guitar, or showing his grandfather how to move his fingers into position, Matt James makes us feel the effort of their attachment. The emotion in their struggles and their joys jump from the page, reflected in their faces, their body language, and their actions.” —CanLit for LittleCanadians

MELANIE FLORENCE is an award-winning writer based in Toronto. She is the author of the picture book Missing Nimâmâ, which won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, the Forest of Reading Golden Oak Award and was a finalist for the First Nation Communities READ award. Her other picture book, Stolen Words, won the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, was shortlisted for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, and was given a starred review by Kirkus, who listed it as one of the best picture books of 2017 to give readers strength.

MATT JAMES has won many awards for his picture books such as the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, the New Mexico Book Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Children’s Literature. The books he has written include Tadpoles; Nice Try, Charlie!; and his author-illustrator debut The Funeral, which was named a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book. He also illustrated When the Moon Comes by Paul Harbridge; The Stone Thrower by Jael Ealey Richardson; and I’m Afraid, Said the Leaf by Danielle Daniel.

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