They're So Flamboyant
Written by Michael Genhart
Illustrated by Tony Neal
2021, Magination Press
I need to tell you something about me, come out to you, as it were. I hope it doesn't make you think less of me, but here goes: I love collective nouns. I have a set of Sierra Club flashcards about them. Can you fill in the blank on this card?
Answer (cloud)
He wrote a book entitled An Exaltation of Larks. It's a list of collective nouns, although he insists on referring to them as "venereal terms." Eeew! I own this book.
So it was with great glee that I discovered They're So Flamboyant also revels in collective nouns! Makes you want to rush out and buy two copies right away, yes? But wait; there's more.
A flamboyance of flamingos moves into a tony neighborhood. They're pink, and they're exuberant, and they're PROUD. One by one, other groups of birds express their uncertainty, their opposition, their provinciality. Will the flamingos win over these bird bigots? Or will Genhart let slip the birds of war?
Spoiler alert: the neighborhood learns that flaming flamboyance ain't so bad after all, and that there's more to the "us" in "us vs. them" than they'd thought. The artwork is as variegated as the different bird species. Neal's facial expressions remind me of a Saturday morning cartoon, but I can't recall which. Read the book and let me know.
On a more serious note, I can't count the number of conversations I've had since coming out that have started with a variation on, "I don't have anything against transgender in general, but..." Instead of finishing that sentence, read this book.
Last thought: how many of these collective nouns can you ID before reading the book or hitting the Google Machine?
gaggle, congress, dole, commotion, charm, brood, scream, unkindness, squadron, watch, band (E Street?), pride (lions are not birds), waddle, venue, mob, gulp, chime, wisdom
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