Hummingbird Lily A fast flapping foray

Lily, a young lady of extraordinary curiosity finds a pair of binoculars in her father's den which open a window to a world of beautiful, magical, and colorful hummingbirds. Lily learns a lot about hummingbirds on her journey through magnificent illustrations by Deborah Ades and the adventures of Ellie and Clive, two birds on a journey in love.

An Australian poet-pirate-persona is a very good place to start describing this relentless-rhymer, but his books are as multidimensional as the renaissance man himself. Simon Mills is a gregarious, larger-than-life author who masterfully com- municates on multiple levels. Courageously comedic and then soulful when you least expect it, his stories entertain the parent reader on one level and the youngster on another entirely. You will meet Violet the Virus who longingly loves people but has no idea she is harmful. You will meander through Venice with Pigeoni, the Italian consigliere whose fanciful-fairytales prove too much for his fellow feath- ered friends until they discover the remarkable truth of his character. Parables that ponder themes from bullying to self-belief in I Lost My Brave, and from racial harmony, in Cyril the Squirrel to social distancing dilemmas in I Lost My Hug.