Not Just For the Birds
Categories: Children's Books
There is a family of birds nesting on our neighbor’s windowsill. My husband spotted them first- a mamma bird who seemed permenantly parked in her nest each day as we went in and out of the house. But now there is a family birds, a family of early risers I might add, but that is another story…
Birds and their feathers have never been so celebrated as in Birds by husband-and-wife team Henkes and Dronzek. Henkes’s spare text provides a unique view of birds that showcases his ability to think and see like a young child: “If birds made marks with their tail feathers when they flew, think what the sky would look like.” Dronzek provides the answer with her exuberant and colorful paintings. The combination is a winning presentation that children will savor.
In Antoinette Portis’s A Penguin Story, Edna waddles off in search of something besides the three colors of her penguin world — white ice, black night, and blue sea — and finds it in the bright orange of a scientific expedition’s tents, clothing, and airplane (“WOW!”).
Jeremy Tankard's latest, Boo Hoo Bird, will tickle the funny bones—and tug at the heartstrings. In this sequel to Grumpy Bird (2007), Bird receives a "bonk" on his head during a game of catch. At Raccoon's urging, the injured fowl visits each of his friends for a little TLC, but nothing, not even kisses or cookies, soothes his dampened spirits. The source of Bird's miraculous, and hilarious, full recovery will even get a chuckle from parents of the under 5 set!
April Pulley Sayre’s Honk, Honk, Goose!: Canada Geese Start a Family takes young nature enthusiasts through the life cycle of Canada Geese from the beginning of mid-March mating season and progressing beyond the twenty-eight day incubation period. This fun read-aloud is grounded by great informational back matter and is one of the few picture books that gives a nod to Father Goose. The cut-paper collage illustrations wonderfully complement the text, capturing the geese in motion as well as at rest in their nest. A perfect fit for wildlife lovers
While not specifically about birds, Keith Baker’s Just How Long Can String Be features a delightful conversation in which Ant asks Bird, “Just how long can a long string be?” and receives more of an answer than he bargained for. It depends whether the string will be used to tug a balloon, wrap around a box, hang a picture on the wall, stake up the sweet pea vines, or get attached to a pole as a fishing line. Ant, thus enlightened, realizes, “a string’s just as long as I need it to be,” and tends to his own task of making an ant-sized tree-swing. The tangled ball of string that unravels and wends its way from page to page provides an artful use of line.
In Flip! Flap! Fly! Phyllis Root has an adorable assortment of baby animals (inlcluding birds) flap, wiggle and splash their way through the forest, but what these babies like best, of course, is spotting other baby animals! Young readers will also love guessing which animal comes next as they follow clues from the onomatopoeic verbs and rhyming text. Infectious rhymes, sunny illustrations, and an array of baby animals make an irresistible page-turner for the youngest of listeners.
