I enjoyed this story about learning with a friend. The bird, Rufus, is expected to sing and fly well, but does not. Bea is excited because Rufus has the opportunity to learn these new skills and she can help. They are adorable characters! I love the narration style, rhythm of the words, and illustrations.

Thank you NetGalley and Girl Friday Books for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

It seems every picture book or early reader has a pair of animal friends, and this book is no exception. The artwork for Rufus and Bea is cute, lending itself to a fun storytime, but the flow of the text is a bit of a problem. It begins with well, injecting a bit of humor which I know kids will enjoy, but then it waffles between a rhyming text, songs, and plain prose. "You don't have to impress. Just express," seems to be the main focus of this buddy book, but it comes off as pedantic. I love the bird's cute hat, though.