How to Make a Bird (PB)

Author(s): Meg McKinlay

2 – 6 years old

Extraordinary imagery and rich language spark the reader's imagination as they enter the creative world of a young girl.


From award-winning author Meg McKinlay and celebrated artist Matt Ottley comes a moving and visually stunning picture book that celebrates the transformative power of the creative process from inception through recognition to celebration and releasing into the world. We shadow the protagonist as she contemplates the blue print of an idea, collects the things that inspire from the natural world to shape a bird. And breathes life into it before letting it fly free. It shows how small things, combined with a little imagination and a steady heart, can transform into works of magic.


Product Information

Meg McKinlay is the author of over twenty books ranging from picture books and young adult fiction through to poetry for adults. Raised in central Victoria, in a TV- and car-free household, Meg was a bookish kid, in love with words and excited by dictionaries. On the long and winding path to becoming a children’s writer, she has worked a variety of jobs including swim instructor, tour guide, translator and teacher. Meg is now a full-time writer and lives near the ocean in Fremantle, Western Australia, where she is always busy cooking up more books.


Matt Ottley is an internationally acclaimed and multi-award winning artist, working equally across the fields of literature, visual arts and music.

Matt has had more than thirty-five picture books published and awards include the CBCA Picture Book of the Year, the Queensland & NSW Premiers Awards for literature and the International IBBY Australia Illustrator Award. He was recently shortlisted for the Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.

In 2014, Matt was made an Endorsed Yamaha Artist for his work as a composer. He has worked with The West Australian Symphony Orchestra on scores for many of his picture books, and recently had a large symphonic work recorded by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno, Czech Republic.
His music has also been performed at the Perth International Arts Festival, the Perth Fringe Festival and the Hong Kong International Literary Festival.

General Fields

  • : 9781760656386
  • : Walker Books Australia Pty, Limited
  • : Walker Books Australia
  • : 169.0
  • : 01 February 2023
  • : {"length"=>["27"], "width"=>["24.5"], "units"=>["Centimeters"]}
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Meg McKinlay
  • : Paperback
  • : Matt Ottley
  • : 32