Grades K-2. While Mama is away on an errand, Mel the bird decides to learn how to fly. Off the branch she goes, thus beginning a fall that gets really long—and really suspenseful. The oblong pages are designed to be turned vertically so the tree trunk forms a continuous band on one side as Mel plummets past wide-eyed owls, swarming bees, an overly ambitious snail (“I . . . will . . . catch . . . you . . . !”), and others before plunging into water where she snags a fish. As lines of text twist around to follow her, she finally wings her way up past the tree’s cheering residents to get a loving hug from Mama back at the nest: “I flew! I flew!” For fledgling readers who might not recognize Mel’s distinctive blue-and-orange coloring, Tabor explains that she is a kingfisher, a bird that dives into water for food. He saves that note for the end, though, so as not to spoil the drama. Heartening fare for nestlings facing plunges of their own. .

Goldfinch Award winner 23-24.