by Paul Meisel
40 pages; ages 4 - 8
Holiday House, 2019
theme: birds, nature, growing up
Today is my birthday! I can’t see yet. When I stick my head up and open my beak, Mom and Dad feed me.
E. Bluebird has a good life: loving parents who feed her beetles and crickets, a cozy nest, and fancy new feathers on her wings. Even when her parents want E to leave the nest (she’s afraid of heights…) they still feed her. But when E. does take that leap out of the nest, she discovers flight.
What I like about this book: It’s fun to read. Plus, who knew that bluebirds keep journals? For example:
July 4 ~ Flight is amazing! … Everything is so beautiful from up here. (Apparently she didn’t notice the owl watching her.) Plus we get to tag along on her migration flight there and back and watch her get on with bluebird life.
I also like the creative use of end pages. That’s where Paul Meisel puts the sort of things that one might usually find in back matter: a range map; information about bluebirds in the wild; links for how to build a bluebird house; lyrics to their songs; and a short glossary.
A couple years ago Meisel wrote another book from the point of view of a praying mantis. you can find my review of My Awesome Summer, by P. Mantis here.
Beyond the Books:
Go on a bird walk. The best times are early in the morning or in the evening before dusk. If you have a field guide, take it along. If not, you can check back with Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds to help identify birds you see. While you’re out with the birds, watch how they fly. And listen to their songs. Here are songs of an Easter bluebird.
Build a bluebird nesting box. It’s too late for this year, but you can make it now for next spring. Instructions are here and here - and here's a video.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Such a great book! Especially for those of us who love birds.
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