Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution

Britt Gondolfi

Book cover for Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution
Book cover for Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution
Book cover for Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution
Book cover for Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution

Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution

Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution

Britt Gondolfi

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Description

A FOREWARD INDIES 2024 FINALIST FOR PICTURE BOOKS!

In a world captivated by screens, Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution offers a refreshing and timely reminder of the importance of unplugging and reconnecting with the world around us.

Fontaine, a determined and witty pigeon, grows tired of seeing people glued to their devices. He gathers a band of bird allies to spark a playful yet powerful movement that encourages everyone to look up, embrace nature, and foster real human connections.

Written in lyrical verse and paired with whimsical illustrations, this delightful picture book delivers a heartfelt message with humor and charm. Perfect for Storytime, Look Up! not only entertains but also serves as a gentle wake-up call for readers young and old to reconsider their relationship with technology.

Key Features:
Relevant and timely theme Addresses society's overreliance on technology and screens in an approachable, lighthearted manner.
Engaging narrative Told in lyrical verse, making it enjoyable to read aloud.
Vibrant illustrations Quirky, expressive artwork that enhances the story's humor and message.
Conversation starter Encourages families to discuss the importance of balancing screen time with real-world experiences.
Suitable for all ages Perfect for young readers, parents, and educators looking for a fun yet thought-provoking read.

With Look Up!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution, children will laugh, learn, and be inspired to put down their devices and explore the world around them.

About the Author

Britt Gondolfi grew up in the elder millennial era. She reminisces about having a screen-free childhood, minus a little Nintendo, TV, and slow dial-up desktop, but no smartphones. Concerned over how her cell phone took her attention away from her child, she wrote Look Up! Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution as an urban legend joke for her daughter. Now, if she ever gets too caught up in her cell phone, her six-year-old will politely remind her, "Mom, you better put that away before a bird poops on you! She works as a Rights of Nature policy advocate for the Bioneers organization and is a recent graduate of Loyola University College of Law. As a former teacher and lover of literature, typewriters, and poetry, she hopes this book will inspire people to look at their relationship with technology and take more time to look up.

Critical Reviews

Poo on you! Literally. Fontaine the pigeon is fed up with screen-obsessed humans' obliviousness to the world, so he convenes a meeting of the birds. Their unanimous decision: Drop poo on malefactors who glance down at phones. "Targets" will be forced to look up after bombardment! Following the first "hit," a mother quickly glances up, curious about "that bizarre scream," because Fontaine has issued a battle cry--"VIVA LA REVOLUTION!" No screen remains untouched because, when someone glances down, "a glob of bird poop" knocks their phone to the ground. Finally, a child says, "I think these birds want us to give these phones a rest." Everyone realizes they've forgotten nature, the importance of using their words--and each other. The moral: Thank the birds, and "when you are outside, keep your phone in your pocket...and your eyes up and wide." Children will giggle at this tongue-in-cheek rhyming tale, set in New Orleans, and will hopefully get the point, which applies to adults, too: Screen time should be minimized and engaging with the world optimized. While the consequences outlined here are mined for exaggerated humor, this serious idea should spark conversations. The colorful, graphic novel-like illustrations are appealing and incorporate creative typefaces and speech bubbles; human characters are diverse. Much-needed encouragement to look up and see the world! (Picture book. 5-8)

LOOK UP!: Fontaine the Pigeon Starts a Revolution
By Britt Gondolfi; illustrated by Amanda Romanick
School Library Journal
June 2024

Gr 1-3-The kids will not see this coming. Start the story hour with any of Mo Willems's "Pigeon" books, then show them what pigeons can really do--especially when they collaborate. Fontaine, the pigeon, is dismayed by the hordes of people below his perch staring into their screens and ignoring the fabulous teeming life all around them. Fontaine "got so tired of all the insanity. He dreamed up all the ways he could wake up humanity." It's actually just one way: He organizes all the other pigeons to do what they do best--perfect for gross-out loving children--in a targeted effort to take out the screens, one by one. The gloppy mess they fire, with astonishing accuracy, makes one person suggest that perhaps the birds are trying to tell them something. Lesson learned, and there is dancing in the streets. This tale is told in Gondolfi's casual rhyming text; the goal is not perfect scansion but the compelling idea, its execution, and the revolution itself. Romanick's art offers many hilarious moments, with a diverse street crew, a wide array of birds/comrades, and suspense as the first "bomb" is dropped. VERDICT Pure -silliness, this is sure to be popular with the early elementary set. -Ginnie Abbott

--Ginnie Abbott

Publishing Information

Publisher: Paw Prints Publishing
Pub date: 2024-04-30
Length: 32 pages

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