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“Calling each other bird names / is a fun game / but which names? / Pretty ones like: / mockingbird, nightingale / or even:  magpie?” 

This fabulous bestiary, beaked and feathered, full of charm and inspiration, invites readers to take a tour of the avian world with its subtle, sparkling tongue twisters. Constantin Kaïtéris’ wordplay and attention to sound prove a genuine pleasure, playfully and humorously introducing us to the mysterious, strange, and often comical names of birds, whether they make their homes at sea, in the jungle, or in our own backyard. This book is music to your ears and easy on the eyes with Kotimi’s illustrations, which depict our fine feathered friends with great tenderness and a touch of humor. An occasional touch of azure blue helps readers take wing into the skies in this collection, the author’s third book with møtus.

Constantin Kaïtéris has been a teacher, linguist, and a specialist in French as a foreign language, which has led him to spend time in various countries. In 2010, he published a book of poems for children The Stonishing Sanimals (Éditions Corps Puce) which won the Joël Sadeler Prize the same year and the 2011 Lire et faire lire [Read and Read Alike] prize from the Printemps des Poètes [Springtime of Poets]. He has also authored two volumes of folktales from Ethiopia from Éditions Présence Africaine and over a dozen poetry collections with various publishers.

Author, illustrator, and engraver Kotimi was born in Tokyo and works in Paris. Her work has been the object of several gallery shows in Europe and Japan, and was awarded a prize at the 2016 Bologna Children’s Book Fair. She has published over fifteen books with such publishers as Rue du Monde. In her work, she seeks spontaneity and liveliness of line and material.