Take a trip through the zoo with this irrepressible pigeon as it preens and poses alongside all the animals, right up to the sharp teeth of a grumpy lion. A cheeky, layered story full of deadpan humor and a fresh illustrative style.
Birds
The Cheer-Up Bird
A vibrant, colorful bird wakes up in her nest, surrounded by her chicks. As she flies through the air, she brings joy and energy to all animals in the wood but with every encounter she loses a little of his color. At the end of the day she is gray and tired, until she returns to her nest where the presence of her children revitalizes her with color and life.
Circle
Each year, bar-tailed godwits undertake the longest unbroken migration of any bird, flying from their breeding grounds in the Arctic to Australia and New Zealand and back again. They follow invisible pathways — pathways that have been followed for thousands of years — while braving hunger and treacherous conditions to reach their destination. In Circle, Jeannie Baker follows the godwit’s incredible flight, taking us over awe-inspiring scenes as the birds spread their wings above such beautiful landmarks as the Great Barrier Reef and China’s breathtaking cityscapes.
The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk
For hundreds of thousands of years Great Auks thrived in the icy seas of the North Atlantic, bobbing on the waves, diving for fish and struggling up onto rocky shores to mate and hatch their fluffy chicks. But by 1844, not a single one of these magnificent birds was alive.
Spit and Sticks
Succinct and factual text follows chimney swifts as they arrive on a Texas farm, build their nest, lay eggs, ready for fledglings to take flight, and eventually prepare to migrate back to South America. In a parallel, wordless story, a mom, dad, and young girl on the farm watch the chimney swifts throughout the summer and fall, even as they build a new crib and ready for the new baby they’re expecting.
Kite
Taylor loves birds and collects eggs. He has the rare opportunity to enhance his collection when a pair of red kites nest nearby. The only problem is, the red kites are extremely rare – only twenty-five are left in the country. Taylor’s father, a gamekeeper, is under orders from his boss, the landowner Reg Harris, to kill the kites, who are birds of prey and will go after Harris’s grouse population. For Taylor, the temptation also to take the eggs from the kites’ nest becomes insurmountable when Harris actually asks him to do the job, even though it is illegal. Pangs of terrible guilt follow, and although Taylor tells Harris he’s gotten rid of the incriminating evidence, he secretly salvages and hatches one egg. But as soon as the bird is born, elaborate plans must be made to keep its existence a secret in order to save it from being shot during the approaching hunting season.
Time Flies
Time Flies , a wordless picture book, is inspired by the theory that birds are the modern relatives of dinosaurs. This story conveys the tale of a bird trapped in a dinosaur exhibit at a natural history museum. Through Eric’s use of color, readers can actually see the bird enter into a mouth of a dinosaur, and then escape unscathed.
Join the discussion of Time Flies as well as other books centered around relocation on our My Take/Your Take page.
Spots In A Box
A young guinea fowl concerned by his lack of spots sends off for some in the mail. When the box arrives, the spots aren’t quite what he was expecting. After trying on big spots, small spots, striped spots, and even glow-in-the-dark spots, he finds a pattern that suits him perfectly in this touching, quirky celebration of individuality.
The Lion And The Bird
A lion finds a wounded bird in his garden and decides to care for it through the winter. When spring arrives, the bird’s flock returns. The bird goes off with its flock. Lion is sad. But autumn brings a wonderful surprise.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume VIII, Issue 1.
Sarah and the People of Sand River
Twelve-year-old Sarah is told by her widowed father that she must leave the Frog Bay wilderness and go to school in the city to learn to speak English, but when the family that she lives with is cold and cruel, keeping her out of school, she earns the angel-like protection of a wise raven.