Title: Ceri and Deri Build A Birdhouse
Author: Max Low
Publisher: Star Bright Books - US Publisher
Format: NetGalley eBook ARC
Genre: Children’s picture book


Ceri and Deri Build a Birdhouse by Max Low follows a cat named Ceri and a dog named Deri. The two are out one day when they come across a bird without a home and decide to build it a birdhouse. The two create a list of things the birdhouse needs, and draw it out before starting to build it.
The sentences are simple and don’t fill too much of the page, so young readers that are just starting to read on their own won’t find this book too overwhelming. Low does a great job of showing how Ceri and Deri think through what the birdhouse needs, making this book a great read aloud to pair with a lesson on design thinking. The questions they pose to each other would also make great discussion points with students. At the end, Ceri and Deri end up giving up on the birdhouse and while some reader may take this is showing it’s okay to give up, the two do talk about how just because they were good at designing the birdhouse doesn’t mean their good at building and could lead to great discussion about working with people that have different strengths than you. The illustrations were colorful but did seem a little outdated, reminding me of picture books I read as a child. However, I found young students focused more on what the characters were (they wanted dog books, or dragon books, etc.) and didn’t care so much about the art style. I rate this book a 4 out of 5. It was an enjoyable read, and offers many great discussion and lesson topics that students and teachers can use.

There really wasn't an ending besides giving up on building the birdhouse and the bird just staying with them.

Ceri & Deri are back in a new adventure. This time they have a bird that lands on Deri's head. The bird doesn't have a home so they design him one based on his interests. After designing Ceri & Deri find out they are actually not good at building. Cute story about finding out that they may be good at one step of the plan but not able to execute the plan.