A Visit to a Heronry

Heronry

by Barbara Herkert; illus. by Gordy Wright

40 pages; ages 4-8

Tilbury House Publishers, 2026

themes: birds, animal families, conservation 

Spring dawns at the heronry. 

The first bird arrives.

He lights with large, graceful wings, long stilt-like legs.

Page by page Barbara Herkert introduces us to a heron family, from the first sticks of nest-building through raising chicks to fledglings leaving the nest. The combination of lyrical prose and luscious art make this a wonderful nature narrative for reading to children. Aside from the hungry eagle, the story feels peaceful and nurturing. 

What I like about this book: I like the layered text. One side of each spread features lyrical text in larger print. A text box on the other side contains additional supportive information – perfect for an older kid to read, or from which a parent could choose a fun fact of the day to highlight during a read-aloud. The life-cycle of a heron provides a nice arc for the book, and Gordy Wright’s illustrations provide details that will have kids lingering over the page. Plus there is back matter for curious naturalists of any age, and end pages that will have you dreaming of flight- or at least heron-watching. 

Beyond the Books:

Learn more about Great Blue Herons. Here’s a video from Cornell Lab of Ornithology that shows herons fishing, and here’s their heron page at All About Birds.

Watch a baby heron hatch! Video courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

How do you compare to a Great Blue Heron? Herons range from 38-54 inches. How tall are you? Their wingspan stretches from 66-79 inches. How wide is your “wingspan” when you stretch both arms out to the side? 

Do you eat like a heron? Great Blue Herons eat mostly fish! But they also eat frogs, crabs, snakes, grasshoppers and other insects. What’s on your dinner plate?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Music for - and with - the birds!

Today kicks off the Great Backyard Bird Count - you can find out more about that here. Meanwhile,  I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to share a book that includes birds!

Beatrice and the Nightingale 

by Patricia Newman; illus by Isabelle Follath 

48 pages; ages 6-9

‎Margaret Quinlin Books, 2026

theme: music, biography, birds

 No one knew Beatrice would make history.  

Beatrice grew up surrounded by music and learned to play instruments. When she was nine, her mother brought home a cello, and Beatrice dreamed of sharing its music with the world. And she did. Then one night when she was playing her cello in the garden, she heard a nightingale echoing the notes she played. Beatrice played some more notes, up and down the strings – and the bird followed. She wanted to share this miracle like she had shared her cello performances. And then she had an idea: broadcast her cello-nightingale duets on the radio.

What I like about this book: The language is luscious. When Patricia Newman is describing the music surrounding Beatrice, she uses similes like “Violin as lively as a butterfly.” I like how Patricia shows Beatrice figuring out how to share this miraculous musical connection with the world, and some of the logistical problems she had to overcome. And I like the back matter: a timeline of notable moments in Beatrice’s life, and a look at the early days of radio and the controversy over the recording – some people claimed it was a hoax.

Patricia has written many books about STEM topics, from picture books to YA. I wanted to know more about what drives her to write, so I asked her One Question.

Me: What is your favorite thing about writing nonfiction?

Patricia: Nonfiction has the power to change people’s minds and call them to action. I love to connect readers to true nature stories with happy endings. Our news media tends to focus its energy on negative environmental headlines, and our children are listening. The people in my books, whether present-day scientists or historical figures like Beatrice Harrison, inspire hope in readers. In Beatrice and the Nightingale, Beatrice celebrated birds through her musical gift. But she didn’t stop there. She shared her passion with the world, and by doing so, connected millions of people to the miracle of nature. I call Beatrice and the Nightingale a Teach the Hope book.

Beyond the Books:

Come up with some similes to compare the sound of a musical instrument to something in nature. Patricia Newman used “violon as lively as a butterfly” in her story.

Spend time listening to one kind of bird. Try to learn one of its songs. If you play a musical instrument (like a recorder) try to repeat the bird song on that. Then sing – or play – the bird song you learned outside. How do the birds respond? I used to play loon calls on my recorder, and the loons would sing back to me!

When you listen to birds singing, how does it make you feel? If you don’t have any songbirds around, you can listen to a nightingale here. Try to capture how the birdsong makes you feel by painting or drawing or writing poetry or moving…

Patricia is a member of the STEAM Team Books group. You can find out more about her at her at her website www.patriciamnewman.com. You can find more about recently released STEM and STEAM at www.steamteambooks.com

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~leaving seeds for the birds

 I love my garden - but let's face it: I am a lazy gardener. I let my flowers go to seed and leave them all winter. One reason is that some of the seeds will germinate and grow into beautiful blooms next summer.

 

So who nibbles the seeds of my purple coneflowers and bee balm? Blue jays do. So do cardinals, goldfinches, chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, juncos and sparrows. These are the same birds that show up at my feeder ... but on those days I'm slow to refill the feeder, I'm happy there are plenty of seeds out in the garden for them.

 Birds, and other wildlife, glean seeds from grasses and other plants as well. 

 

You can find out more at this article, "Native Plants Provide Winter Food Sources for Birds" here.

 

This week, look for birds visiting seedy heads of flowers and grasses in your neighborhood.

 

Who do you see? 

Crows Come Together

 

I Am We: How Crows Come Together to Survive 

by Leslie Barnard Booth; illus. by Alexandra Finkeldey 

44 pages; ages 5-8

Chronicle Books, 2025 

theme: birds, behavior, community, winter

I spill across the sky like ink—

fill the night with jagged cries.

I have one thousand eyes.

With the opening of the book we are invited into a winter flock of crows – a flock where one crow is part of the many because, as Leslie writes, “one set of eyes isn’t nearly enough.” With lyrical language she shows how the flock works together for survival. 

What I like about this book: The lovely, poetic language pulled me right in to the crow’s reality of winter survival. I love how Leslie explains that “we” is stronger than “I” – even if it is just for a night’s roost. There is a wonderful nod to the witches in Macbeth, and the recurring theme that night casts the spell that binds the birds together. The illustrations are perfect: dark, but not dreary! And there is Back Matter where curious readers can learn more about crow families, bird intelligence, social learning, and winter survival.

Every time I read a book by Leslie, I feel like she’s found a new way to tell a story. So I had to ask her One Question.

Me: How did you come to this way of telling a story about crows? And did you explore other ways of telling the story?

Photo by Kristal Passy Photography

Leslie: This story began with the concept of crows as social creatures that cooperate and collaborate to survive. I was particularly struck by the fact that crows benefit from the vigilance of other crows--by moving and resting as a flock, they can in a sense "see" with a thousand eyes. I had also been thinking, at the time I wrote this piece, about the power of cooperation more generally. We humans are inextricably bound to one another--our happiness, health, and survival depend on the actions of families, communities, and nations. Because the collective is the focus of this story, when I wrote the first draft I chose first-person plural point of view. While other aspects changed from draft to draft (I worked to add tension and create more of a narrative arc), the point of view remained consistent.

Beyond the Books:

Check out the video and activities at Leslie’s page for educators. There’s a lot to do there!

Get to know a crow. The best way is to find a place to watch them in your neighborhood, or at a park. If you want to know how to identify a crow, check out this page from Cornell’s All About Birds

Fold a paper crow. Instructions here.

Leslie is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website, lesliebarnardbooth.com

https://www.lesliebarnardbooth.com/

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

How To Plant a Forest

The Blue Jays That Grew a Forest 

by Lynn Street; illus. by Anne Hunter 

48 pages; ages 4-8

‎Peachtree/Margaret Quinlin Books, 2025

theme: ecology, autumn, birds

How does the mighty oak create more oak trees? By making acorns.

But here’s the thing about acorns: they are heavy! (I know this because I’ve had a few fall on my head.) They are too heavy to blow on the breeze, so they plunk right down to the ground. Right under the tree. Here’s another thing about acorns: they need sun and water and room to grow. And how can they get that if they’re laying on the ground in the shade with all the other acorns? Well, if they’re from the white oaks next to my house they get picked up and moved by squirrels and birds, carried away, and buried in the ground. 

And sometimes those acorns get forgotten and they sprout into tiny oak seedlings (I know this because I’ve had more than a few grow in my vegetable patch!). 

In luscious, lyrical language, author Lynn Street pulls readers into the acorn-caching behavior of blue jays who hide their treasure – like pirates! “With their beaks, the jays tap, tap, tap the acorns into soft ground…” she writes. The jays have to move fast, because there’s competition. Squirrels, turkeys, mice, chipmunks, deer … they are gathering up acorns too.

What I like about this book: I mentioned the language. Here’s what I mean: “Back and forth— flashes of sapphire in the sun— blue white, blue white.” Even without an illustration you can picture this blue jay flapping across the sky. I like that Lynn takes us through an entire year: winter when jays dig up the acorns to eat, spring when they feed their nestlings bugs (because acorns are too big for babies…),  and fall, when the young jays join the “blue crew” and help their parents collect acorns for the winter. I like the back matter, too! More information about oak trees and jays, and how human interaction has changed the nature of oak forests. There’s also a great list of books for further reading and some websites to visit.

Lynn’s inspiration for this book came from a photo of a blue jay carrying an acorn. In addition to researching books and articles about blue jays and oaks, she spent lots of time watching jays. So I had to ask her A Couple Questions:

Me: What cool insights have you gained from the jays visiting your backyard? (ours are raucous thieves!)

Lynn: I watched blue jays in my backyard as they interacted with a pin oak just over the fence. From a second story window, I was able to see into the oak’s canopy as jays pried acorns from the tree. Over several fall seasons, I spotted more and more of this acorn gathering in real time.

I noticed, too, where the peanuts from my bird feeder were being hidden. One jay buried a peanut under leaf litter. Another time I spotted a jay leaving a peanut in the rain gutter of my neighbor’s house. I also watched a blue jay pull an acorn out from between flagstones on my patio.

Me: Jays are related to crows, and crows are pretty smart birds. How do jays exhibit their corvid intelligence?

Lynn: Blue jays are part of the corvid family, which includes crows, magpies, nutcrackers, and ravens. Blue jays are very intelligent. They have an amazing spatial memory, which helps them locate thousands of buried acorns. The blue jay that dug up an acorn from my patio knew exactly where it was hidden. It landed, plucked it out, and was flying again a few seconds later. 

Blue jays are also great mimics. Their calls can sound like a hawk, or a squeaky gate. The hawk call may alert other jays to predators nearby or trick other birds into thinking a hawk is present. I hear the hawk call often, and the jays always fool me. I look outside when I hear it, but each time it’s a blue jay perching in a nearby tree. Only one time was it a hawk circling high above my street.

In captivity—but not in the wild—blue jays have been observed using tools to rake food into their cages.

The black markings on their faces and throats (called a bridle or necklace) vary and may help the jays to tell each other apart. Do you think you can tell the blue jays at your feeder apart?
 

Beyond the Books:

Watch some blue jays this fall.  Draw a picture of what your jays look like – and make sure to note the markings on their faces and throats.

This one comes from Lynn: Watch your jay’s behavior. Is the bird eating? Is it hiding food or plucking an already buried acorn out of the ground? Blue jays move quickly, so pay close attention!

Do you have oak trees in your neighborhood? If so, get to know them. Draw a map of where the oak trees are growing. 

In the spring, look for oak sprouts. You might find one in your yard or neighbor’s garden. If it’s “in the way” ask if you can dig it up. Then put it in a pot and watch it grow,

Lynn is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website, lynnstreetbooks.com 

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

If you Save a Pelican...

Plight of the Pelican: How Science Saved a Species (Books for a Better Earth) 

by Jessica Stremer; illus. by Gordy Wright 

40 pages; ages 5-8

Holiday House, 2025   

theme: birds, endangered species, conservation

 For millions of years, pelicans have flown over Earth, skimming the salty sea breeze…

… then diving down to scoop and gulp the fish in the ocean. But in the 1950’s something started happening. Fewer pelican chicks were born – and pelicans weren’t the only birds with declining birth rates. The problem: thin eggshells caused by bioaccumulation of a pesticide, DDT. This book shows how action by scientists and farmers and just regular folks helped save the pelicans. And the eagles.

What I like about this book: What begins as a lyrical flight of words across a page grows into a call for action. Author Jessica Stremer shows how scientists began questioning the role of – and fate of – DDT as it spread from fields to streams and the ocean, from insects to fish to pelicans. I like how she asks questions on the page – even as laws prohibited the use of certain chemicals, could pelicans be saved? And now, even the list of plants and animals threatened by environmental risks grows, Stremer shows that we know what to do.

Back matter focuses on the history of the environmental movement, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and passage of the endangered species act. There’s more information about the pelicans and about how DDT harms birds. And there’s a short – but important – list of ways kids can “be the change.”

After finishing this book, I knew I had to ask Jessica One Question!

Me: How can adults best support their children’s work to make the world a better place for pelicans and other animals?

Jessica: I think one of the best things adults can do to support their kids is to find out what activities most interest them and enable that interest. If they have a child who likes to tinker, maybe they can build some type of wildlife habitat together. If they have a child who likes to explore the outdoors, take a hike somewhere new. Bring a bag for picking up trash and a journal for some quiet time of observation. The more we invite children to be part of the natural world, the more they'll feel a sense of duty to care for it.

Thank you, Jessica! Jessica is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. She’s talked about her books a couple of times here on the blog: Great Carrier Reef and Fire Escape . You can find out more about her at her website, www.jessicastremer.com

Beyond the Books:

Make a pelican – or an entire flock of them – out of paper plates. Here’s how. 

Test how strong eggs are. The dome shape of eggs is what lends them their strength (at least when they’re not affected by DDT). If you’ve got some eggs, a few bottle caps and a pile of books, you can test how strong an egg is. This video shows how. 

Read more about threats to birds and meet some of the birds on the brink of extinction (here’s an article to get you started). What can you do to bring awareness to the need for bird conservation?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Tiny Birds, Long Flight

 

Tiny Tern Takes Flight 

by Donna B. McKinney; illus by Fiona Osbaldstone 

40 pages; ages 4-6

‎Science, Naturally!, 2024 

theme: birds, migration, nonfiction

Arctic terns live in shivering cold lands near the North Pole.

They may be tiny, but they are mighty birds who dive into icy water for food, and scoop out nests on the rocky tundra. They may be small, but they are fierce protectors of their nests and hatchlings. They may look puny, but when summer light fades and seasons change, they take off on the longest migration journey of any bird – flying all the way from the Arctic to the Antarctic. A wonderful story about an ordinary tern making an extraordinary flight.

What I like about this book: Sure, this book is filled with facts, but the language is so lyrical you don’t even notice. As seasons change, “sunlight creeps toward darkness as the Earth turns on its axis…” Air currents carry the terns “higher, further, southward.” Back matter shows details of the tern and their feathers, tells more about migration, and describes how they live in the Arctic and Antarctic. And there's the alliterative title, too!

Beyond the Books:

Arctic terns are migrating, and right now are close to the midpoint in their migration from the Antarctic to the Arctic. You can look at their migration map, and find out more about these tiny terns at All About Birds.

Join a scientific expedition to monitor arctic tern migration via this video

For deeper study of arctic terns, check out this hands-on unit from author and teacher, Jessica Fries Gaither

Fly like a tern. In the book, the terns rise and glide on air currents. They twirl and soar. Can you move like a tern?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the author.

Explore Outdoors ~ Bird Tracks on my Porch

 The birds know, without a doubt where the source of the suet and seed is. And, after a dusting of snow, the chickadees have no qualms letting us know that they are waiting for a refill! The woodpeckers have another way of communicating - they're drumming on dead trees and at daybreak it's enough to get one up and moving!

What are the birds telling you where you live?

Bird Fiction for Middle Grade

I recently read two middle grade novels that have bird watching at their core. The Secret Language of Birds, by Lynne Kelly is about a girl who discovers a pair of endangered birds nesting in an unusual place. And Bird Nerd, by Jennifer Ann Richter features a birding tournament between two schools that gets a bit more competitive than expected. 

While both books feature our feathery friends, they are also about and finding your own flock. So let’s crack open their covers and see what they’re about.

Bird Nerd 

by Jennifer Ann Richter 

240 pages; ages 8-12

‎ Holiday House, 2024

What happens when your fifth-grade teacher decides to enter your class in a birding competition – and the only other team is from a wealthier suburban school? Nyla Braun, a bird nerd, has high hopes of leading her City Birders to victory. All she needs is a place with trees where birds hang out, and to find a way to motivate her class.

While birdwatching draws her closer to her grandfather, her desire to win conflicts with a long-standing friendship. And her high expectations lead to disappointments along the way. Not only does her feeder design fail to win a prize, but squirrels invade! 

One of the things I liked about this book was the way the author, Jennifer sprinkled bird words throughout the book. The teacher perches on the edge of her desk. There’s a skirt that’s “goldfinch yellow.” But what I particularly love is that Jennifer included an author’s note at the back – YAY for back matter in fiction – where she lists resources for bird nerds (or the merely bird-curious) who live in cities or suburbs or anywhere, really.

Review copy provided by the publisher

The Secret Language of Birds 

by Lynne Kelly 

240 pages; ages 8-12

Delacorte Press, 2024

Nina has always felt like an odd duck, but she is determined to fit in at summer camp. Where she discovers a rare bird – a bird that hasn’t nested in Texas for over a hundred years. The problem… when she discovered this bird, she was in a place she was Not Supposed To Be. An old cabin that is off limits to the campers. So when Nina finally decides to report this bird to the wildlife folks, she has to reveal where she saw it.

The cool stuff: there is a mate. Where did he come from? There is a nest, and an egg. Nina definitely wants to watch developments, and figures out how she and her cabin-mates can keep an eye on the birds. There is, of course, trouble. And Nina does find her flock.

One of the things I like about this book is the authentic birding stuff. Nina uses a bird app (if you’re looking for one, Merlin is great) and squirrels and raccoons raid her feeder just like they do in real life. There’s also cool bird facts, like how jays and crows are related and how birds can recognize faces. And then there’s this quote that I want to hang over my desk: “…a 

This book is from my personal library

The seasons are changing. I see more birds at the feeder every day. So this might be the perfect time to put a birdy-novel in the hands of a middle-grader. If you’re looking for bird books for the littles, check out my post over at the GROG a couple weeks ago.

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading.

Getting to Know Crows

This is the time of year when I see crows – lots of crows – gleaning grains from the cornfields and gathering in trees. I hear their caws in the morning, sometimes a single bird and sometimes a ruckus of noise. Crows are brilliant and brainy and worth getting to know. Here are two recently published books to help get your crow study started.

theme: birds, animal behavior, nonfiction

Crick, Crack, Crow!

by Janet Lord; illus. by Julie Paschkis 

32 pages; ages 4-8

Margaret Quinlin Books/Peachtree, 2024

Crow lives with his noisy family high in a treetop.

He is curious and loves to have fun … but mostly Crow likes to stir up trouble! He gets into some thieving trouble, some tricky trouble, and some trapped-in-the-dark trouble. With his ability to use tools and solve problems, Crow can usually get out of trouble. Until he finds trouble too big for one bird…

What I like about this book: I love the couplets of “Crick, crack, crow! Ready to go!” The words change throughout the book, depending on the situation, and kids will love anticipating the repetition. I appreciate the accuracy of how the author and illustrator depict crow behavior on the page. And I love the back matter, “Crick, Crack, Crow! So much to know!” Lots of great crow facts and resources for expanding the story and learning more about these brainy birds.

How to Know a Crow: The Biography of a Brainy Bird 

by Candace Savage; illus by Rachel Hudson 

120 pages; ages 9-12

Greystone Kids, 2024

This book takes you into the world of the American crow, starting in a crow’s nest … where, with a tap-tap crunch, one tiny bird breaks free from the egg. Readers will get an inside look at the family life of crows. It’s not just mama and papa bird, but brothers and sisters from previous years help take care of the babies. Good thing, too, because there are SO many jobs to do! There’s feeding, and nest maintenance, and taking out the trash, and protecting the nest. Plus, there’s an up-close look at the life of a teen-aged crow!

What I like about this book: So Many Things! There’s the pie chart showing the kinds of things crows eat, and the relative quantities thereof. There are “Crow Lab” sidebars with activities, such as a check list to determine whether your bird is crow or not-crow, and an experiment involving a nut and a string. There are mini-features, which focus on a particular aspect of crow life. For example, “Cawing 101” is all about how to understand crow language. There’s a list of ways you can help crows (and other birds) stay healthy. There’s a great book turn so you get a vertical page showing “high rise living” crow style. And throughout, the author raises intriguing questions, like: do crows have “culture?” Oh yeah, there’s an entire chapter devoted to “bird braininess.” Organizational features include a table of contents, a glossary, resources for curious kids (and adults), and an index. I give this book 5 feathers!

Beyond the Books:

Play a game of “I Spy a Crow” – keep track of where you see crows, and how many different kinds of behaviors you see them doing. You might see a group of them chasing a hawk, or a single crow on a telephone pole acting as lookout. Or, as in our neighborhood, a flock walking across harvested fields looking for leftovers.

Fold an origami crow. All you need is some black paper. It's not too hard - you can follow the video here.

Think about your neighborhood – or your yard – from a crow’s point of view. Draw a map showing large trees that might provide nesting spots, lawn or gardens for foraging, and snacking opportunities (pet food, compost bin). Here’s more info about crows from Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Learn how to speak in Crow. Check out these recordings from CLO and see if you can make crow sounds.

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers. And on Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Books celebrating Ants and Doves!

Upon returning from my end-of-summer break, I discovered a bunch of summer releases I’d neglected to share. Taking care of that forthwith! Today’s books celebrate animals, behavior, and human interactions.

Rosemary Mosco writes and illustrates a variety of things, from her Bird and Moon comics to chapter books. Her most recent picture book was released in July. It’s about ants – and I love it! 

There Are No Ants in This Book 
by Rosemary Mosco; illustrated by Anna Pirolli 
40 pages; ages 4-8
Tundra Books, 2024  

  
What a nice-looking book this is! It’s the perfect place for… a picnic.

The reason? There are no ants… it even says so on the cover. Except, as we turn the page we discover that there’s one ant. That might be okay, but then two more ants show up, then more until there are Ten Ants! And that turns out to be fine with the character, because she’s discovering just how cool ants are.

What I like love about this book: I love that each ant is a different species, from a tiny acorn ant to a huge dinosaur ant. The back matter provides a brief bio for each of the ten ants, with their scientific name, where they live, and a cool fact. I’d write more, but I want to go check the acorns in the yard for … ants!

Over the past decade or so I’ve enjoyed reading books written by Sara Levine. Whether it’s animal bones or flower talk or math, she combines fun with STEM. Her newest picture book is all about… well, the title says it all.

A Terrible Place for a Nest 
by Sara Levine; illustrated by Erika Meza 
40 pages; ages 4-8
Roaring Brook Press, 2024 

  
When Juno and his mom lost their home, they had to move to a new place.

Juno doesn’t like his new room. The local grocer doesn’t carry his favorite cereal. Making new friends is hard, and mourning doves are building a nest on the fence right next to the gate. “This is a terrible place!” Juno yells. 

What I like about this book: I like how Juno helps the doves when their nest falls to the ground, and how he decides to take them under his wing (so to speak). As the dove family grows, we see Juno’s circle of friends grow, and the ways they come up with to protect the nest, despite its suboptimal location. I also like how Sara’s story focused on a bird that is distributed across the continental US, Mexico, and southern Canada. So any kid reading or listening to this story can see mourning doves – or their rock dove “pigeon” cousins – around their neighborhood.

Beyond the Books:

Make a picnic for the ants in your yard or at a park. What sort of food will you provide? Remember, some ants like sweets, others like meat, and some will eat anything. Make sure you put your ant picnic on a sheet of paper so the ants can reach their favorite food.

Once you’ve made your ant picnic, observe the ants that visit. What ants arrive first? Do they stick around and eat or do they scurry away, only to return with a friend or two or ten? How many kinds of ants did you see?

Maybe you’d rather make a picnic for mourning doves. They like to eat sunflower seeds, millet, oats, unshelled peanuts, and cracked corn. You can learn more about attracting mourning doves at exploring birds.

This summer a robin tried building a nest over a door. It was a terrible place for a nest! Are there any birds nesting in “terrible places” around your house? What kind of bird, and where did they try to build their nest?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

How to Build a Beak

 

Building a Beak: How a Toucan's Rescue Inspired the World  

by Becca McMurdie; illus. by Diana Hernández 

32 pages; ages 4-8

Page Street Kids, 2024  

theme: engineering, birds, kindness

High in the Costa Rican treetops, a toucan named Grecia soared from branch to branch…

She did the regular things toucans do: pick berries, preen her feathers, sing, and tuck her beak next to her wing at night to sleep. Until humans hurt her, breaking her beak. Fortunately some kind-hearted people found her and took her to a place where she could be protected. But a toucan can’t survive without a beak. Enter an engineer with a 3-D printer and people around the world who wanted to help save Grecia.

What I like about this book: I can’t resist a story of kindness overcoming adversity, especially when scientists use the technology they have to try a novel solution. In this case, printing an artificial beak. I love how author Becca McMurdie shows the community of engineers and scientists, bird experts, the rescue center staff, and children came together to help an injured toucan. And I like how illustrator Diana Hernandez included an engineering diagram of the new beak. In back matter, Becca discusses why stories like this are important. Reading and discussing these kinds of stories helps build awareness about the importance of protecting habitats (in this case the rainforest) and the animals that live there, she says.

Becca mentioned that she had gone to Costa Rica for a couple months and learned about Grecia while she was there. So of course I had Questions!

Me: Hi Becca. Can you tell us a bit about what you were doing while in Costa Rica?

Becca: I was working for a charter school network in New York City that allowed all staff members to take a two-month sabbatical after every 10 years of service to the organization. I decided to spend my two months living in a small cabin in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, volunteering at a local school there, going on nature walks daily, and doing lots of writing. Why not!? 

Me: Why not indeed! So how did you learn about Grecia?

Becca: While I was in Monteverde, I went on several bird watching tours. On my first tour, I saw a toucan for the first time. It was perched on top of a branch singing proudly. So beautiful! The guide then told me that a few years prior, there was a toucan in Costa Rica who was injured and lost its beak, but a prosthetic beak was made for it. I was intrigued! He couldn’t remember all of the details, but said that everyone in Costa Rica had heard about it at the time, and had been in the news. I went back to my cabin that night and did an internet search to learn about this toucan with the prosthetic beak. I learned her name was Grecia, that a 3D printer had been used to create the beak, and, even more impressively, that the event sparked a wildlife protection movement that successfully led to legal protection of the rainforest! Many of the articles I read were in Spanish, from local Costa Rican news sources. I found out that the name of the rescue center that saved Grecia was Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center. It was about three hours from where I was staying. Bravely, and humbly, I emailed them to tell them how I had learned of Grecia, and that I wrote children’s books (albeit no published books and no agent, at the time) and that I would love to speak with someone on the rescue team, either via email, Zoom or in-person, if they’d be interested and open to that. To my delight, they replied with enthusiasm and invited me to visit! 

Me: I have to know more about your visit to the rescue center to meet Grecia and their caretakers and scientists.

Becca: During my visit I was escorted by one of the veterinary technicians on Grecia’s team, and met several other caretakers and scientists as well. I got a behind-the-scenes tour of their emergency animal rescue department. I could look into the enclosures through one-way viewing glass. It’s important to minimize the animals’ contact with humans, so they maintain their natural instincts and be returned to the wild after they are rehabilitated. I saw lots of baby monkeys, a few grown-up monkeys, sloths, many beautiful birds and even an ocelot. Some of the animals had been hit by cars or injured on power lines. As one of the largest rescue centers in the country, Rescate receives several new injured or orphaned animals every single day, arriving from all around Costa Rica. Many of them require weeks, if not months, of care before they can be released. Animals that cannot be released, either because their injuries will require long-term treatment or because they no longer have natural instincts needed to survive in the wild, remain in the center’s lifetime animal sanctuary, which is open to the public. That’s where Grecia lived after she received her new beak. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet Grecia. She passed away of natural causes just a month before my visit. (She did live a full life-span, comparable to those of most wild toucans.) Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center is truly an amazing place. You can learn more about them at www.rescatewildlife.org. I donate a portion of the proceeds of Building a Beak, to the organization. 

Beyond the Books:

By Bernard Dupont - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

Read about Grecia here at NPR

Make a paper plate toucan. Here's how.

Becca is a member of #STEAMTeam2024. You can find out more about her at her website,

https://www.beccamcmurdie.com/

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the author.

Explore Outdoors ~ Birds and Bugs Together!

Saturday is World Migratory Bird Day! Did you know that insects are an important food source for migratory birds? If you love to watch birds, make room in your yard for bugs!

 

Learn more at https://www.migratorybirdday.org/

Explore Outdoors ~ Birds playing in the snow

 This week we've had some snow ... which means when squirrels zip over to the feeder, I can see their tell-tale tracks in the snow. Deer and squirrels aren't the only ones leaving tracks. My friend, Trish Engelhard, and I have been enjoying evidence of some bird fun outside our back doors.

photo by Trish Engelhard

Over on Trish's side of the hill, the birds have been making Snow Angels!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, on my hill the juncos are holding square dances.

 

 

 

 

 

What kinds of stories do the birds leave in the snow where you live?

 

These Books are For the Birds!

Every morning the birds wake me up: robins and mourning doves, jays and crows. Loudest of all is a tiny phoebe, its feathers still ruffled from sleep. So when I discovered these books nesting in my book basket, I knew I had to get them out to sing their “good morning” songs.

themes: birds, animal behavior, family

Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons 

by Laura Purdie Salas; illus. by Alexandria Neonakis

32 pages; ages 5-10

Millbrook Press, 2023 

Perched on the edge of a northern lake, a nest of dried mud and grass cradles two eggs.

If all goes well, those olive-colored, black-splotched eggs will hatch into baby loons. But one stormy day, when the loon parents return to the nest, they find broken shells and only one single chick. The chick grows and changes and soon it’s clear this chick is not a loon chick. It’s a mallard duckling! Now, mallards and loons are not related. They aren’t good friends – more like enemies … and yet these parent loons and duckling create a family. Throughout the book, Laura Purdie Salas contrasts how loons and ducks behave – and how this young duckling learns loon behavior.

What I like about this book: This is an engaging story to begin with, and I love the way Laura shows how the duckling learned loon things – diving for food, eating fish – and still did its own ducky things. I like that she asks questions: what made loons raise a lost duckling? How did the duckling learn loon behaviors? Will the duck ever find a mate? And I like how she emphasizes the importance of family. Plus there is Back Matter! Laura tells about the true story and presents a Venn diagram comparing loons and mallards.

How Birds Sleep

by Sarah Pedry and David Obuchowski

40 pages; ages 4-8

‎minedition (Astra), 2023

It’s dusk. Unless you’re an owl, it’s time to get ready for sleep. 

As the sun sets, birds all over the world are getting ready to snooze. Some settle in bunches, perched in a line on a tree branch. Others hang upside down. Some nest in trees, while others snuggle together at the end of a tunnel in a termite mound. And some never land, sleeping in the air as they glide.

What I like about this book: The illustrations are luscious, done in shades of blue that evoke night. Each bird is identified by common name, scientific name, and a location – which makes it easier for curious naturalists to find out more about a bird that piques their interest. And the language is perfect for a go-to-sleep book, with nests described as cozy and safe, or pillowy-soft, or waves rocking the birds to sleep. Yaawwn! Just don't fall asleep reading!

Swoop and Soar: How Science Rescued Two Osprey Orphans and Found Them A New Family In The Wild 

by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp 

54 pages; ages 5-12

Persnickety Press, 2022

High above the dark blue water, a sharp-beaked osprey hovered in the morning sky.

Father osprey is fishing for his chicks. But when a storm knocks down their tree, the baby birds need help. That help comes in the form of Janie, a raptor biologist who has rescued many ospreys. Her idea: foster the osprey chicks with a pair of osprey that had lost their own. This book follows the story of how Janie Veltkamp helped create a new osprey family, and shows the chicks, Swoop and Soar, growing up in their new nest. 

What I like about this book: In addition to Swoop and Soar’s story, Janie tells what it’s like to rescue ospreys and reintroduce them into habitats. There’s a section all about Ospreys where readers can learn more about osprey adaptations, where they nest, and why they became endangered. There’s even a list of how you can help the ospreys.

Beyond the Books:

What sorts of things would you learn if you were adopted by a different animal (or an alien)? Think about the way you find food, what you eat, the way you might play together. Then check out this video of the loons with their adopted duckling.

How do you sleep? Do you make a nest? Or snuggle in with others? One thing that you can do to help birds sleep is to make sure you turn of outdoor lights at night.

What makes a family? One book shows loons adopting a duckling, and another shows how a wildlife rehabilitator was able to help osprey chicks bond with new parents. Draw a picture or write a poem about what makes the people – and animals you live with – your Family.

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Tree Hollows Make Cozy Hiding Places

 Ages ago, when I was in fourth grade (I think), I read My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. The cover was a simple line drawing of a boy with a hawk perched on his shoulder, but inside was a detailed tale of a kid who lived off the land. He made his home inside a hollow tree and used the library to learn all about edible weeds. I wanted to live inside a tree, too – it sounded so cozy. 

I wasn’t the only one. After reading her copy of the book, Melissa Stewart also wanted to make a home inside a hollow tree. And the seeds for Tree Hole Homes were planted. Time passed, and she forgot about the book until … on a visit to Vancouver Island, Canada, she spotted a tree with a hole big enough for her to squeeze inside.

So she did. 

It was then, as she looked up into the hollow tree, that she knew she’d write a book about tree hole homes. The thing about writing books – and growing trees – is that they both take time. That serendipitous visit to Vancouver Island happened in 2011. Melissa’s book came out in October, 2022. In between those years, Melissa filled up notebooks with tree hole observations.

Tree Hole Homes: Daytime Dens and Nighttime Nooks 

by Melissa Stewart; illus. by Amy Hevron 

40 pages; ages 4-8

‎Random House Studio, 2022

theme: nature, animals, trees

Imagine this: One day while walking in the woods, you spot a towering tree with a hole big enough to slip inside. 

So you do.

From birds to squirrels, frogs to bears, many animals use tree hollows as a place to nest, rest, or just escape the world for a bit. A tree home can be calm and quiet – a place for a fisher to sleep during the day. Or it can be filled to the brim with activity, as cubs and kits and hatchlings explore their world. 

There is so much I like about this book, beginning with the endpapers! The first endpaper shows a child with a backpack walking toward a tree. There’s a spread before the title page where we see the child sitting inside that tree. They look so cozy and content! You meet them later in the book and also on the back endpaper.

I like the layout of the pages. Large text presents a big idea: a tree hole home could be large or small. Smaller text provides information about the featured animal (or two) that live in those holes. Here’s am example of the spread explaining just how busy a tree hole home can be, with seven little ones to care for. (I particularly like this spread because the raccoon kits are checking out the fungi growing on the tree!)

  

And of course I love that there is back matter. Three pages provide the vital statistics about the tree hole dwellers featured in the book: their scientific name, where they live, what they eat, and a fun fact. Plus there is a list of books for curious kids (and adults) who want to learn more about animal homes.

Beyond the Books:

Head over to Melissa’s website and check out the videos about Tree Hole Homes. There’s a fun video about how Amy created the art for this book by painting on wood (and leaving some of the wood grain showing). You can find a link to a Reader’s Theater here.

Read more about tree hollow habitats in this article published by the Concord Monitor

Go on a tree hollow scavenger hunt. Look for:

•  A hole high in a tree
• A hole low to the ground
• A hole made by a limb that fell
• A hole made by an animal
• An old hollow
• A new hole or hollow
• Small holes in a tree
• A large hole
• Holes that look like they were made while seeking food
• A hole used as a nesting or resting place

Adopt a tree hollow. Visit it every month and keep track of the activity in and around it. You’ll need a notebook, pencil, maybe binoculars, and something to sit on – choose a place where you can sit quietly, hidden from view.

Melissa is a member of #STEAMTeam2023. You can find out more about her at her website.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy from my local library system.

Make the World a Better Place for Wild Things ~ by Lisa Kahn Schnell

I write and make art to make the world a better place. To me, that means protecting wild creatures and wild places, connecting people with the non-human natural world, and deepening and sharing those connections. That’s part of what made me curious to learn more about Rosalie Edge. 

Lisa's sketch of tree at Hawk Mountain

Mabel Rosalie Barrow Edge founded Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in 1934 as a response to the annual shooting of migrating raptors that passed along the main ridge that runs through southeastern Pennsylvania. Because hawks, eagles, falcons, and other birds of prey were considered vermin at the time, whole families gathered on rocky outcrops on Sundays each autumn to shoot the birds as they flew by. Rosalie, who by that point had dedicated her life to protecting wildlife of all sorts (not just the cute and cuddly kind), was horrified. After many ups and downs and a whole lot of work, she raised enough money to purchase the land and create the world’s first sanctuary for migrating raptors. 

I had worked and volunteered at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary for over ten years before I dove into the details of Rosalie’s story. Big posters of her greeted me every time I walked into the visitor center, and I had given presentations about her to tour groups and sanctuary visitors. But with her tidy suit, fancy hat, and heels, I always found her a bit intimidating. Her face did not just look out from those posters. It implored, with the fierceness of one of the raptors she so loved.

Red-tailed hawk sketch by Lisa

I have come to understand that fierceness as devotion to the causes she cared about. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary was definitely one of those causes! But her reach was broad, and whatever the topic, Rosalie took every opportunity to speak up—and encouraged others to do the same. By creating Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, she also made it possible to start collecting data about migrating raptors. This data set has continued to build to this day, and has been used by scientists far and wide (including Rachel Carson) to monitor raptor population trends. Rosalie listened to her heart, and her actions sparked great changes.  

But Rosalie hasn’t gotten as much attention as other environmentalists. I’m excited to share her story, both as a way to give back to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary—a place that has meant so much to me—and also to inspire others. By learning about her struggles and creative solutions, I hope that more people will use their own skills and ideas to make the world a better place for wild things and the humans who love them, too.     

Lisa at Hawk Mountain

One way you can help make the world a better place for wild things is to ask someone to tell you about an experience they had with nature. A lot can happen if you listen. However big or small the story—or the teller!—listening is a great reminder that these experiences and relationships with wild things are important. And who knows what good things will come of that. 

Lisa Kahn Schnell is the author of High Tide For Horseshoe Crabs and other books for young readers. She has worked and volunteered at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary for over 20 years. This year, Lisa has been sketching a tree every day. She’d love to hear your stories about a special tree you know, or other moments in the natural world. You can find her online at lisakschnell.com and @lisakschnell.