Hello, Mr. Dodo!, written by Nicholas John Firth, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Alexandra C.
Summary: Martha is a young bird enthusiast. She is able to identify every type of bird in the woods near her house; but one day she comes across a big funny-looking bird that she does not recognize. She looks through several books and finds that her new friend is a Dodo bird, and that they are supposedly extinct! She decides to keep him a secret to keep him safe. Martha and Mr. Dodo have fun together: playing cards and eating doughnuts. This changes when she lets slip to the postman that her bag of donuts is for Mr. Dodo. She rushes to warn Mr. Dodo to hide, and sure enough the next day her house is swarmed with reporters and zookeepers. Thinking quickly, Martha pretends that Mr. Dodo is imaginary and the crowd grumpily leaves. Seasons pass and Martha misses her feathered friend and wonders if she had really imagined him after all. Martha looks for Mr. Dodo once more when spring comes, and is able to find Mr. Dodo and bring him a bag of donuts. Now, Mr, Dodo has another friend: a Ms. Dodo! And together they have an egg!

Straight Talk for Librarians: This would be a wonderful book for a spring, summer, or bird book display! The colors are bright and eye-catching, and the illustrations are full of fun. This would also be a wonderful book in the classroom when discussing types of birds, or beginning to talk about species that have gone extinct. “Hello, Mr. Dodo!” includes realistic illustrations of several species of birds that are commonly found in wooded areas and, of course, introduces the Dodo bird in all of its goofy splendor. The plot revolves around Martha keeping Mr. Dodo a secret, and the climax involves her being cornered by reporters who want to meet Mr. Dodo. Martha is worried about her friend’s safety, so ironically says that Dodo birds are extinct, and Mr. Dodo is imaginary! Afterwards she is lonely and misses her friend, even wondering if she had, indeed, imagined her dear friend. Martha experiences this loneliness while doing the right thing: protecting her friend. This would be a wonderful point for class discussions about doing the right thing, even when it’s hard or it might make you sad. But, everything turns out alright in the end for Martha and Mr. Dodo has a new friend! The silliness of a Dodo bird eating donuts and the joy brought by Nicholas John Frith’s vibrant illustrations (very 1950’s like) are bound to capture the attention of emerging readers!