Crane & Crane

In areas of high growth and construction, we often joke that the state bird is the construction crane. But in many areas of North America we can also enjoy seeing real, live cranes. (In Rockport, the only naturally migrating colony of whooping cranes spend the winters, but we also get sandhill cranes there.)

In Crane & Crane, Linda Joy Singleton compares the construction crane with the sandhill crane.  She very simply, yet clearly, conveys a number of concepts that compare the object with a living thing. This allows her to show more than just the similarities, also visually demonstrating how nature inspires technology and how mechanical things can mirror the natural word.

Using double page spreads to show both a living crane and a construction crane, Singleton encourages readers to view these similarities as a sandhill crane lifts, stretches, honks, grabs, glides, and more. On the facing page a construction crane is performing the same actions and making the same sounds. By the end of the book readers discover that while the construction crane was building a house, the bird was building a nest. A final page labels parts of both cranes.

In addition to showing young readers how both cranes operate, the book teaches verbs. Only the final word, "home," is a noun. Children will enjoy looking at the details and can be encouraged to repeat and act out some of the words, especially onomatopoeic words like "plop" and "swoosh." Watercolor and crayon illustrations by Richard Smythe are bright and light and the pictures add a lot of details to support the single words on each page.

Sandhill Cranes, Bosque Redondo, NM 

While Crane & Crane focuses solely on the sandhill crane, which are found in marshes and fields and prairies throughout much of the northern and southwestern parts of North America, there are many more species in the world with only the sandhill and whooping cranes native to North America. I do wish Singleton had included information specifically on cranes as children who like birds will want to know more about this amazing species. They are among the largest birds in North America with extremely large wingspans. They are also very vocal birds so check out websites like Cornell Lab of Ornithology that provide sound files.

FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the author but receive no compensation for the review.

Song for Papa Crow

Many birders identify birds by their call and they use mnemonics to help them remember the calls. In Song for Papa Crow, Marit Menzin introduces the calls of about a dozen birds. Starting with the American Crow, readers learn that not all bird calls are melodious songs. The caw, caw of the crow is so irritating that it chases away the other birds. Although his papa loves his voice, the other birds don't like his singing. Wanting to help his son, Papa asks the Mockingbird to teach Crow to sing. Mockingbird can mimic the songs of other birds and is one of the only birds you will hear at night.

Little Crow wants to sing like the other birds, who make fun of his call and run away. But can Mockingbird's magic whistling seeds help? Well, in this story, the answer is yes, but Little Crow quickly learns that singing and trilling the songs of other birds also means he can't hear danger when Hawk comes calling. Worse, he can't call out to his father for help because he no longer sings his own recognizabel song. Okay, this is a kids book so all ends well when Little Crow spits out the whistling seeds and calls for a flock of crows to help him. And Little Crow learns to love his own song, even if he is singing out of tune.

Fun Facts at the end provide a little bit of information about each bird and the written vocalizations of the calls are accurate and will help young birders identify the calls. Collage illustrations are bright and colorful and clearly show important identification markings for the pictured birds.

While the onomatopoeic written sounds are accurate, readers may want to supplement their skills through some of the great on-line collections of bird songs.  Cornell's Lab of Ornithology has a nice collection, along with tips on learning to identify birds by calls and songs. Just click the link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/how-to-learn-bird-songs-and-calls/ .




FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the author but receive no compensation for the review.

Best Bird Books of 2018

January always signals the start of the awards season so once again I am sharing Forbes' list of the top bird books of the past year. I've only reviewed one, The Feather Thief, but will be posting about a second, Warblers and Woodpeckers by my friend Sneed B. Collard III, soon. Although I have reviewed several of his books, my review of that book has been delayed by a move from Rockport back to the Austin area. I'll also note that Forbes does not appear to consider books for young people in their review of birding books. Read some of the past year's blog posts for some great books for young people, although I would not dare try to suggest that my reviews make up a "best" list for the year. And keep reading Bird Brainz for some exciting books coming up in 2019. Click here to see the full list and the annotations about the books but the titles are:

• The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London by Christopher Skaife

• The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson

• The Ascent of Birds: How Modern Science Is Revealing Their Story by John Reilly

• Belonging on an Island: Birds, Extinction, and Evolution in Hawaii by Daniel Lewis

• The Seabird’s Cry: The Lives and Loves of the Planet’s Great Ocean Voyagers by Adam Nicolson

• The Wonderful Mr Willughby: The First True Ornithologist by Tim Birkhead
  

• Mrs Moreau’s Warbler: How Birds Got Their Names by Stephen Moss 

• The Delightful Horror of Family Birding: Sharing Nature with the Next Generation by Eli J. Knapp

• Warblers & Woodpeckers: A Father-Son Big Year of Birding by Sneed B. Collard III

• BirdNote: Chirps, Quirks, and Stories of 100 Birds from the Popular Public Radio Show by BirdNote; edited by Ellen Blackstone

• Hentopia: Create a Hassle-Free Habitat for Happy Chickens; 21 Innovative Projects by Frank Hyman

• The Wall of Birds: One Planet, 243 Families, 375 Million Years by Jane Kim 

Coming Home

A plucky, determined robin travels home for Christmas to meet his mate in this charming picture book. Feeling the pull of a mysterious force, the bird swoops and darts, soaring onward and upward, on a long journey to leave the cruel snows and make it safely home where his mate is waiting. Gorgeous digitally composed illustrations vary in tone and color to reflect the various areas the robin must fly through. Over land and water, escaping danger, sometimes flying in a flock but often alone, helped along the way by a kindly sailor, the little robin is finally with the one he loves. While this is primarily a gentle story to read aloud, it is also a heartwarming holiday tale and readers will learn a bit about birds along the way.

Prefatory facts refer to the bird as a Scandinavian robin, although I don't find that there is a species with that specific name. European robins (Erithacus rubecula) are found from Siberia to Algeria and the Azores and robins from Scandinavia migrate to Great Britain and Western Europe to escape the cold winters. The same fact section explains that robins use the stars to navigate and fly up to a 1,000 feet above sea level. In contrast to American robins, which are heralded as a sign of Spring, in Britain the European robin is most associated with Christmas as they begin looking for a mate in mid-December and have, hopefully, found one by mid-January.


My only quibble with the illustrations is that there is no discernible difference shown between the male robin and his mate. The female's coloring should be muted, almost washed out, in comparison to the deep, rich colors of the male. I think it would also be helpful to have a map showing the bird's migration route.

American robin
(photo by J. Larson)

Although the term robin is used for both European robins, members of the Old World flycatcher family, and the American robin, which is a thrush, this story is clearly about a European robin.  While both birds have reddish-orange breasts, they are not related. The European robin's breast is so distinctive that it is also called robin redbreast.

The author, Michael Morpurgo, is best known for his book, War Horse, which was also made into a major motion picture. Illustrator, Kerry Hyndman, is a London-based illustrator and map-maker. Coming Home is her first children's picture book.

About Woodpeckers

Part of a series, this title looks at, well, woodpeckers. The text is simple, usually one or two sentences on a white background facing a large plate that features an illustration of an individual species. While the text is generalized, discussing basic characteristics common to most woodpeckers, seventeen of the eighteen plates look at a single type of woodpecker out of the more than two hundred species around the world. The eighteenth is a squirrel using a woodpeckers hole as its home.

The Afterword provides details, plate by plate, on specific birds. The watercolor illustrations are clear and detailed, showing features that might be harder to see in photographs, and include glimpses of the habitat. The size and length make this a great introduction for preschoolers and students through about second grade and may inspire them to look for those woodpeckers they can find in their area.

Northern flicker
(photo by J. Larson)

Pair this with Woodpeckers: Drilling Holes & Bagging Bugs by Sneed Collard for older readers. Also helpful for teachers and parents is the publisher's guide to the series, which offers some extension ideas to use with any title in the series. Other bird titles in the series explore birds in general, parrots, hummingbirds, and penguins.


FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy from the publisher. I receive no compensation for reviewing the book.

Galápagos Girl / Galapagueña

This is not strictly a bird or birding book but is so filled with birds that I wanted to share it. Also, one of my "bucket list" trips is to go to the Galápagos Islands. Marsha Diane Arnold tells the story of a young girl, born on the islands, a Galápagos girl, and the wonders she finds in the world around her. She plays among the delightfully funny blue-footed Boobies and dances with the island's eponymous penguins. There are 56 different species of birds on the islands, with 80% being found only there. Arnold also includes the Galápagos flamingo, Galápagos petrels, and the waved albatross.

Valentina learns that the world she so loves is endangered, threatened by animals that don't belong on the islands and people who don't care. The young girl leaves the island to go to school but returns a biologist, dedicated to sharing her love of the Galápagos with visitors and encouraging them to leave with promises to help keep the animals safe.

An Author's Note explains how Arnold met the real Valentina Cruz and how she and her family have protected the islands. Her work will be an inspiration to other young people who care about our world. Other back matter discusses the Galápagos and provides fun facts about the various birds and other animals introduced in the book. She concludes with an extensive bibliography for further reading, most of which is for adult readers. Another important aspect of the book is that it is dual language--providing the text in both Spanish and English.

The spectacular wildlife of the area is brought to life by Angela Dominguez, the author and illustrator of several other books, including two that have won Pura Belpré honors from the American Library Association. Great illustrations, a large format, and an engaging story make this an excellent choice for read-alouds and storytimes.




FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy from the publisher. I receive no compensation for reviewing the book.

This is the Nest That Robin Built

I have long loved Denise Fleming's mixed media paper art but it really shines in This is the Nest That Robin Built. A cumulative tale, based on “The House That Jack Built," the story follows the effort it takes for Robin to build a nest. She needs help from a number of friends, including the squirrel who trims the twigs, the pig who mixes some mud, and the mouse who gathers some weeds. Eggs are laid, "brittle and blue," and nestlings hatch. A triple-foldout page reprises the actions Robin followed, ending with little birds ready to fly.

Baby Mockingbirds (photo by Deb Davis Nevin)

While this is a perfect read aloud that will have children reciting along, it also does have some good information on nest building for young birders right as nesting season starts. And the illustrations of baby birds waiting to be fed is spot on: they are all bright yellow mouth!

Parents and teachers should also visit Fleming's website for activities related to the book, including a really cute baby robin mask that will have the kids looking like baby birds. There is also a teacher's guide available.

Best Bird Books of 2017

I don't usually post two days in a row but the start of the new year means it is time for all of the "best" lists to come out and I wanted to share this list of the top twelve bird books of 2017. The list was developed by Forbes and, as I have learned being on many book awards and best lists committees, is very subjective. The books are all non-fiction and memoir, although I've noticed a lot of birds in fiction this past year. They are also all for adults so the list doesn't consider the many really good books for kids that came out in 2017. Only Mozart's Starling is on my Kindle but I hope to read, and review, a few others from the list. And it will be interesting to see what books come out in 2018. I already have a few lined up! (Note also that one of the books, The Seabird's Cry, includes puffins, which I blogged about yesterday.) Happy reading!

Click on the link to go to the article and read the synopses but here are the titles:

1. Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird by Katie Fallon 
2. The Seabird's Cry: The Lives and Loves of Puffins, Gannets and Other Ocean Voyagers by Adam Nicolson
3. How to Speak Chicken: Why Your Chickens Do What They Do & Say What They Say by Melissa Caughe
4. The Robin: A Biography by Stephen Moss
5. Mozart’s Starling by Lyanda Lynn Haupt 
6. The Wonder of Birds: What They Tell Us About Ourselves, the World, and a Better Future by Jim Robbins
7. Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World by Noah Strycker
8. Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation by Kyo Maclear
9. Flock Together: A Love Affair with Extinct Birds by B.J. Hollars
10. One More Warbler: A Life with Birds by Victor Emanuel and S. Kirk Walsh 
11. As Kingfishers Catch Fire: Birds & Books by Alex Preston and Neil Gower
12. The Curious Bird Lover’s Handbook by Niall Edworthy

Twelve Best Books about Birds--2017