Odd Birds
‘The ABC of Fabulous Princesses’ and ‘Aviary Wonders Inc.’
What
could be more retrograde than a story about a prince choosing his bride
among a batch of eager princesses? In “The ABC of Fabulous Princesses”
the Austrian artist Willy Puchner upends expectations in a surprising
and delightful way. Even the appearance of the princesses — there are 26
— is probably not what readers will anticipate, for each is an exotic
bird, painted by Puchner as a full-page, full-length portrait and
wearing a regal gown. And — feminists rejoice! — there are no Disneyish
wasp-waists here; these dresses are almost dumpily triangular, to
accommodate the bird-shaped bodies. In the tradition of royal
portraiture, Puchner paints the princesses accompanied by objects and
animals that illustrate their attributes: a peculiar array of walking
sticks, Venetian masks, snowy owls and casserole dishes.
From
A (Anna from Amsterdam) to Z (Zenobia from Zurich), Puchner uses the
corresponding letter of the alphabet to describe each princess in an
alliterative paragraph. Princess Elmira from Ethiopia is “extravagant,
empathetic and enormously emancipated. She enjoys eating eel with
eggplant and endive. She plays the English horn and engages in exciting
expeditions.” Not all the princesses are such earnest paragons: Princess
Florentine from Finland, for instance, is “foolish, funny and
forgetful. She eats fish fillets with fennel, French fries and fruit.
She plays the fipple flute on Fridays (when she doesn’t forget) and
frolics with flickering fireflies.” Such verbal jesting is infectious;
children who enjoy “The ABC of Fabulous Princesses” may find themselves
improvising prose poems at the bus stop or the dinner table; it’s like a
game of I Packed My Grandmother’s Trunk — but with more scope for
whimsy and invention. This is not so much a book for lovers of birds,
but for lovers of words.
Kate
Samworth’s “Aviary Wonders Inc.,” ostensibly a “spring catalog and
instruction manual” for build-it-yourself bird parts, is perfect for
older children with an appreciation for irony. An understanding of the
environmental threats to species diversity would help, too, for there’s
pathos to Samworth’s premise, thankfully offset by her brilliantly
detailed and arresting illustrations.
The
catalog conceit begins on the copyright page with a letter from one
Alfred Wallis, who (in a style reminiscent of the J. Peterman catalog)
introduces himself as the founder of Aviary Wonders Inc. “I …discovered a
passion for bird watching while working for my family’s logging
company, first in the Northeast and then in Brazil. I noticed that as
the birds’ habitat disappeared, their numbers and species declined. As
soon as I inherited the company, I shut down operations and devoted
myself full time to building birds.” With evident regret, he concludes:
“I know we can’t replace the birds that have been lost. But we can
provide you with the opportunity to create an exquisite alternative:
your very own bird, a work of art you’ll treasure for a lifetime.”
The
catalog’s fictional inventory of feathers, wings, legs, bodies and
bills available for readers to purchase combines actual bird facts (the
laughing owl became extinct “around 1914, a few decades after settlers
arrived in New Zealand with their cats”) with fantastical designs for
anatomical parts. Shoppers can chose from a variety of beaks, shown
carved and painted with patterns based on “ancient mosaics, illuminated
manuscripts, art deco, abstract expressionism.” Extravagant
embellishments include “display tails” called Geisha and Lyrebird,
which, though beautiful, are “not recommended for flight.”
Flight
is more of a problem for these man-made birds than it is for the real
ones they replace. Once buyers attach the parts they’ve purchased to the
basic (quite sad-looking) bird body, they must teach their birds to
land and fly. Samworth warns: “The first several flights may be short
and clumsy. Do not be critical!” And then there’s singing, which must
also be taught with a degree of foresight: Birds that learn to sing “Old
MacDonald” may prove very boring companions.
Not
very subtly concealed beneath this extended flight of fancy is
Samworth’s thesis: Humans who love birds would be better off protecting
them now rather than trying to recreate them once they’re gone. Some
children may love the pictures and relish the silliness of the project
without feeling the pangs of anticipatory nostalgia too deeply; others
may find “Aviary Wonders Inc.” an uncomfortably guilty pleasure.
THE ABC OF FABULOUS PRINCESSES
Written and illustrated by Willy Puchner
58 pp. NorthSouth. $19.95. (Picture book; ages 5 to 12)
AVIARY WONDERS INC.
Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual: Renewing the World’s Bird Supply Since 2031
Written and illustrated by Kate Samworth
32 pp. Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 9 to 12)