Gifts of the Magpie

By Sam Hundley

A big-hearted bird, who loves to find things and loves to help, gets tripped up by homonyms and gets everything wrong! Will she ever get it right? Then the bird’s friends take a second look at the goofed gifts and realize that, with a little creativity, the magpie gave them just what they needed. Scrap-illustrations provide a feast for the eyes, and silly word mix-ups tickle the funny bone, letting readers discover the delights of found objects and true friends.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Mar 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781684463350

Sam Hundley

Sam Hundley is an American scrap artist who uses found objects that he collects wherever he goes. “Beautiful things are all around us,” he says. “And there’s no limit to what they can become in one’s imagination.” Retired after 39 years as a newspaper artist, Sam now resides in Norfolk, Virginia, with his wife, Lynndale, and their squeaker-loving beagle, Theo, upon whom Tag is based. “Theo is an amazing juggler with his squeaker ball,” says Sam. “But when it rolls under the couch, he howls like a baby until I retrieve it!” (See a photo of Theo on the following page.) Sam’s first children’s book, Gifts of the Magpie, was published in 2021.

Book preview

Reviews for Gifts of the Magpie

[librarianryan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“Mistakes happen, but creative thinking can turn blunders into wonders.” And what a wonder this book is. It uses word play and found objects to make images, and make the word play fit the illustrations. This would be a hoot at story time, and a fun make and take to let kids use found objects to make their own puns or illustrations. All in all this is a great read that I would put on display over and over again.