A excellently illustrated story with a great message about the importance of friendship, and the silliness of quarrelling.

Loved this book! Great for students who love animals and about sharing! I loved how the elephant was kind to the birds and encouraged the birds to be loving and share.

What a beautiful story of friendship. I loved the whole storyline. The illustrations though, oh my, absolutely stunning! This one is a winner all the way around.

Free ARC from Netgalley.

Three birds lives on the back of an elephant. One day a beautiful speckled feather blows in the wind, and the birds gets a hold of it. Only it makes them argue and fight. And the elephant leaves them.

A good story about the meaning of friendship. Such gorgeous illustrations! Children deserves pretty books like this.

The artwork in this is superb! I think it's hand drawn, water-colour-y and lush and lovely, and I'm absolutely enamoured. You just want to fall into the artist's world and live inside these colours. So, so beautiful. Hats off to the artist!

The story itself is an important one about friendship, care and the downside of selfishness. Three birds live with an elephant and are protected from predators by the elephant until they start fighting with each other about who gets to keep the speckled feather that blows their way one day. Mr Elephant ain't about that nonsense and teaches them a valuable lesson.

Definitely recommend!

Debut children's author. Beautiful illustrations and a great message, story is intended for children preschool-grade 2.

I loved the different perspectives in viewing the elephant; so creative.

I plan to purchase a copy of this book once released; publication date is 04 May, 2021.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher NorthSouth Books, the author Johanna Ries, and the translator David Henry Wilson for the opportunity to read and review the advance read copy of The Speckled Feather in exchange for an honest review. All the best.

The Speckled Feather by Johanna Ries is a delightful children’s book that my 3 year old son and I have revisited many times. Set in the Savanna, readers meet three birds named Ade, Emem, and Neru who make their home on the back of an elephant. The birds are initially peaceful, but become quarrelsome after one of the birds happens upon a treasured speckled feather. When danger strikes in the night, the true meaning of bravery and friendship is revealed.

The Speckled Feather is a wonderful story of camaraderie and the importance of sticking together. With bright pictures and intricately depicted animals, the illustrations are nothing short of stunning in this beautiful book. In true toddler fashion, my son requested to revisit the pages at the climax of the novel many, many times.The story sparked great conversation about the importance of getting along with others. We were able to directly apply this lesson from the story to interacting with siblings later in the day. I would highly recommend The Speckled Feather to toddlers as well as school-aged children.

Three birds live harmoniously on an elephant's back in the savanna, until one day, greed divides them. A beautiful feather is snatched and worn by the fastest bird, causing him to become boastful and the other birds to become jealous and to scheme against him. The elephant refuses to put up with any of their squabbling nonsense. The birds become blind to everything besides the feather, even danger.

The illustrations are exquisite. They contributed well to the story. The birds' personalities were portrayed well in the drawings. The story teaches a solid lesson. There is one page that seems a bit scary, but the humorous picture on the next page will ease a child's fears.

Overall, I really enjoyed this author's debut picture book.

I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and NorthSouth books.

The Speckled Feather by Johanna Ries is a book packed full of lessons that go along with friendship--lessons about sharing, disagreements, and protecting one another. This beautifully illustrated book takes place in the Savannah with an elephant and 3 birds that set on his back named Ade, Emem, and Nuru. The 3 birds find a spiffy looking feather and spend the entire book fighting over it. I really enjoyed this book and think this book would be perfect to read at home, school, or library story time. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book. (This review is also on GoodReads.)

This is such a beautiful picture book. I really loved the storyline as well as the amazing illustrations. The book follows an elephant that has three white birds, Ade, Emem, and Nuru, that ride on his back. One day a beautiful speckled feather blows their way which causes the birds to fight over it. The elephant is not pleased and kicks them off his back until they can get rid of the feather and go back to being peaceful. While the birds are off the elephants back and fighting amongst themselves, danger is lurking in the dark grass. I can't recommend this book enough to kids of all ages. Thanks so much #netgalley for the early review copy.

The Speckled Feather is a stunningly illustrated book about the importance of friendship and unity. The story revolves around 3 birds that live on an elephant in the Savanna. One of the birds discovers a beautiful feather, which leads them to quarrel over it, and causes them more trouble. This will be a great book to promote discussion with children.

Thank you NorthSouth Publishing and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

The blurb speaks of this book being a thought-provoking tale about friendship. That sentiment is lost on me. Yes, there is a fallout but the way it is framed doesn't bring about a satisfactory conclusion to the message it is trying to get across.

I think the target audience will enjoy the story and the dramatics it includes. The illustrations are simple, yet pretty in a camouflage kind of way. I think some of the darker pages could give more thought to the font colour, however this might be an issue due to the format I received the ARC in.

My 4 and 6 year-olds enjoy the tale. They clearly have a deeper appreciation for the text than I do and I suppose that's the way it should be. Overall I rate this book a 4/5

A very beautiful book, filled with great detailed drawings that communicate the story in vivid colors, with a huge sense of space that fills well in a story about the African wilderness.

With gorgeous illustrations, this story focuses on three friends and a fight they get into over the titular speckled feather.

I loved how the text was placed on each page, it really help emphasize the illustrations.

All in all, this was a beautifully illustrated book that focused on the importance of friendship and getting along. If this was published a couple decades earlier, I could definitely see my parents reading this to me and my sister when we were younger as a way to promote sharing and discourage arguments.

Many thanks to NetGalley and North South Books Inc. for this e-ARC. I really appreciate the opportunity to read this gem!

The Speckled Feather is a story of not only friendship, but fairness and understanding. A bit frightening for a moment, but then all comes together, as they receive a reminder of why quarreling just distracts and divides.

A simple yet well crafted story with a message.
Three birds, like children, live on the elephant’s back and are good friends until the speckled feather floats down and then friendship goes out the window and covet comes in.

Beautiful illustrations drawn as part of Johanna’s final project for her degree. Very well thought out compositions in wonderful textures used in the elephants and the Savannah.

There are sometimes, frenzied elements of almost Dave McKean influence, in the dog for instance or the quarrelling birds and then there is the balance with the calm of the Savannah. The spread where the dog pounces is fabulous.
I loved reading this story aloud and look forward to seeing more of her work.

Beautiful illustrations!! The story was cute and kids will enjoy it but the illustrations are so gorgeous that I could see people framing them especially for a nursery.

When three birds quarrel and bicker over a speckled feather their arguments put themselves, and everyone else in the Savanna, at risk.

A beautifully and uniquely illustrated picture book that demonstrates the importance of unity. Great for read alouds.

The Speckled Feather is an engaging, simple story about three birds who quarrel over a beautiful speckled feather. As a parent, this story is one I'd read to my children often to help remind them of how arguing with friends isn't beneficial. This story was translated to English and the translation was done superbly! Also, the illustrations are spectacular - as an adult I really appreciated the art style. I'd highly recommend this book to parents of younger children, it deserves a spot on my kid's bookshelves!

A debut picture book with a whole heap of promise. On the plains of Africa, three birds live calmly on the back of an elephant, until jealousy, big-headedness, spite and greed all rear their heads, when one of the birds claims as his own a red, speckled feather, previously from a different type of bird entirely. How can such an argument be resolved? There're dynamism and character in the artwork, and a good mood when the visuals allow for something more atmospheric. At times things are possibly a little too dynamic – I stumbled once or twice, having missed the text that was allowed to break away from the usual straight lines. But for an entertaining story with a good moral, this succeeds.