How To Make a Bird

Extraordinary imagery and rich language spark the reader's imagination as they enter the creative world of a young girl.


From award-winning author Meg McKinlay and celebrated artist Matt Ottley comes a moving and visually stunning picture book that celebrates the transformative power of the creative process from inception through recognition to celebration and releasing into the world. We shadow the protagonist as she contemplates the blue print of an idea, collects the things that inspire from the natural world to shape a bird. And breathes life into it before letting it fly free. It shows how small things, combined with a little imagination and a steady heart, can transform into works of magic.

Meg McKinlay and Matt Ottley have been awarded the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Crystal Kite Award

How To Make A Bird by Meg McKinlay and Matt Ottley named the CBCA Picture Book of the Year 2021

How To Make A Bird, winner of The WA Premier’s Prize for Writing for Children

Winner of the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children's Literature 2021

Author: Meg McKinlay

Illustrator: Matt Ottley

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 32

Imprint: Walker Books Australia

Publication Date: 20 Oct 2020

ISBN: 9781925381894