“This is Bert. It’s his big day.” Bert is a small orange bird heading toward the end of a branch and it’s presumably his big day to finally fly. Or is it? After checking that he’s ready Bert retreats toward his nest, emerging with a banana, which he eats. Then he retreats again, looking worried. “BERT!” yells an off-page voice. Bert steels himself and takes a running leap, only to flip and fall through empty air until “Splash! ... I did it!” Bert cries. His floaty-wearing feathered friends who were waiting in the water below profess their faith in him all along before they all climb back up to do it again. A simple, spare design (branch and bird against white-paged sky with a single blue cloud) and a satisfying, laugh-out-loud twist to the expected outcome makes this a picture book a winner for storytime, as well as a great book to use when talking about prediction and surprise. (Ages 3–7)