This beautiful book by Matt Sewell features the birds in our gardens that are so familiar to us. The author provides us with information about the habits of the birds and their histories. More than anything though this book gives us a selection of beautifully drawn illustrations that are full of humor and personality. The drawings remind me of Charles Dickens's animalistic caricatures and his ability to transform all sorts of people into animal form. Here Sewell has managed to do the reverse, creating little birds that have definite human qualities and character. This is a book to keep close to your garden window, to dip into now and then when you want to slip away from the hassles of life. It is a reminder that those colourful visitors who frequent our gardens are not so very different from ourselves, if we take the time to notice.
