Days of the Blackbird: A Tale of Northern Italy

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Summary: Days of the Blackbird was a cool book
Review: Days of the Black Bird is one of Tomie de Paola's children books. There are birds in this book. The birds make nice noise in this book. But they go away in the winter and they come back in the spring. The girl in this book tries to keep one of the birds so she will always hear nice music. She makes a nest to comfort the bird. My favorite part is when the white bird goes in the chimney. When the white comes to sing he is covered in soot and looks funny. I would recommend this book to children in the K2 and the 5th grade because it's appropriate and if your learning about Tomie de Paoloa then this would be a good book. This is just one of Tomie de Paola's books. If you want to read more of his books just go to the library.

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Summary: Days of the Blackbird written by Tomie de Paola
Review: There are three main characters in this book; Duca Gennaro, Gemma, La Colombia. Duca Gennero is a duke who has a huge house in the middle of the town. He lived alone with his daughter Gemma. He would let anyone in the town come into his house for anything they needed because Duca Gennaro was a kind and wise man. He was also known for his good advice that would bring people in. Everyday, he would ask Gemma how her day was and what she learned. They would go into the courtyard and listen to the birds sing. Gemma's favorite bird was a pure white one, that she named La Colombia.
Then the winter came and the birds flew away to somewhere warm. Duca Gennaro always would reassure Gemma that Spring would be here soon. Then Spring came again and Gemma and her father listened to the birds sing. Duca Gennaro got sick after one hot summer, a year later. He would ask Gemma to open the window, so he could hear the birds sing. Soon the winter came, and the birds were ready to leave. Gemma made them baskets to live in and feed them too, so they would stay tho sing to her dad.
Christmas came and all the children it the town came to Duca Gennaro's house to get a Christmas present. All the birds flew away because it was too cold. La Colombia was the only one that stayed there. The Duke was still sick. His friends knew that he loved the music from the birds, so they decided to play some music for him. The Duke wasn't happy because he wanted to hear the birds sing. It got even colder outside, but La Colombia still stayed. La Colombia flew up to the chimney to make a nest for himself.
Will Duca Gennaro get better? Will Spring ever come? What will happen to La Colombia? Read the book to find the answers to these questions.
I really enjoyed this book because I think that Tomie de Paola is a great author and illustrator. He writes books that the whole family can enjoy!

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Summary: Folklore of Italy
Review: This is a somewhat unusual book because it may appeal to two age groups: Toddlers and Pre-Adolescents. The former will like the big colorful pictures and happy ending; the latter may appreciate the references to Italian culture and folklore. The plot and conclusion may be somewhat boring to children between these ages, and the very ill father may upset some toddlers. Still, very young children may enjoy the human-animal interaction and the happy denouement.

A well-loved father becomes very sick; bird song seems to cheer him. Most of the birds leave as winter comes, save for one white one who continues to sing. This bird climbs up in a chimney stack to stay warm and keep the father's spirits up through his eventual recovery. Nicely illustrated, with big, "folkish" drawings effectively highlighting an Italian village.