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The Very Worried Sparrow ISBN: 9780745949383
Doney, Meryl and Hansen, Gaby
Published by Lion, 2006
The sparrow really is a terrible worrier. Even as a baby bird he worries about food and about learning to fly. And even with loving parent birds who look after all his needs, he still worries. What about the terrible sparrowhawk, and what happens when the snow comes in winter? In spring, when all his siblings are nesting with new mates, he is too shy and worried to try. It is the little female who finds him and their nesting site, but then the very worried sparrow is fearful for the family he is about to bring into the world. There are cats lurking - and that sparrowhawk. It is a turtledove who provides the answer. Does the sparrow not know of 'the Great Father who made the world and everything in it'? She tells him 'how the day begins, and where the winds come from, and all the little things that every creature knows.' And the very worried sparrow becomes happy and sure of himself and his world. It is the illustrations that make this story particularly special. Full of delicacy and muted colours, they tell the story fully as much as the lyrical writing. A Christian approach to the problem of worrying about things over which we have no control, the story of a sparrow who worries mirrors Jesus' words about God looking after every bird and even the 'lilies of the field'.
Age: 4+