Molly wasn’t looking to have a pet. She prefers climbing trees, eating peanut butter, playing with her dolls, and having breakfast with the birds. But when her little brother thinks he hears a monster in the backyard, everything changes…including friendships. Now, Molly’s adventure with an avian friend leads not only to some discoveries about herself but also to standing in the kitchen sink, having a tea party in a tree house, holding a live bird in her hands, singing into a walkie-talkie, and eating “Oatmeal Mollerino.” She even manages to finally decide on her absolutely, positively most favorite color in the whole wide world—thanks to her special new friend. Breakfast With The Birds is a delight! Long before I became a professional writer myself, I had a career in children’s book publishing. But I must admit … I would never be able to write for kids with the skill that Jack G Hyman so clearly possesses. This is an utterly charming read that children will enjoy experiencing and learning from, over and over. Highly recommended! -Mike Greenly, Award-winning Lyricist, Author, Journalist, Speechwriter
Meet Florence Merriam Bailey, a pioneering birder and activist who changed the way we study birds forever, as told through the evocative collage style of artist Andrea D'Aquino. As a young girl, Florence Merriam Bailey fell in love with the outdoors, especially birds whose songs and flight captivated her. She listened, waited, and watched to better understand her feathered friends, and wrote many books, including one of the first field guides to American birds. Her work ultimately led to better protection for birds and to the scientific study of birds in nature instead of in a lab. She Heard the Birds, the latest book from A Life Made by Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa author Andrea D'Aquino, brings to life the story of a woman ahead of her time. D'Aquino's striking full-page collages make each page a delight to read.
Behind Sami, the Syrian skyline is full of smoke. The boy follows his family and all his neighbours in a long line, as they trudge through the sands and hills to escape the bombs that have destroyed their homes. But all Sami can think of is his pet pigeons - will they escape too? When they reach a refugee camp and are safe at last, everyone settles into the tent city. But though the children start to play and go to school again, Sami can't join in. When he is given paper and paint, all he can do is smear his painting with black. He can't forget his birds and what his family has left behind. One day a canary, a dove, and a rose finch fly into the camp. They flutter around Sami and settle on his outstretched arms. For Sami it is one step in a long healing process at last. A gentle yet moving story of refugees of the Syrian civil war, My Beautiful Birds illuminates the ongoing crisis as it affects its children. It shows the reality of the refugee camps, where people attempt to pick up their lives and carry on. And it reveals the hope of generations of people as they struggle to redefine home.
The Book of the Bird celebrates the bird in art with an elegant, international collection of paintings, illustrations, and photographs, featuring all kinds of birds from the smallest tits and wrens to colourful exotics. Interspersed though the illustrations are short texts giving background to the pictures and information on bird species. This is the perfect gift for all bird lovers.
You don't have to be an experienced birder to enjoy this guide! With hundreds of illustrations and a user-friendly format, you'll soon be spotting and identifying birds in your locale in no time. The updated text highlights the latest trends in birding and the most up-to-date ornithological information. -- adapted from back cover
The New York Times–bestselling author of H is for Hawk explores the human relationship to the natural world in this “dazzling” essay collection (Wall Street Journal). In Vesper Flights, Helen Macdonald brings together a collection of her best loved essays, along with new pieces on topics ranging from nostalgia for a vanishing countryside to the tribulations of farming ostriches to her own private vespers while trying to fall asleep. Meditating on notions of captivity and freedom, immigration and flight, Helen invites us into her most intimate experiences: observing the massive migration of songbirds from the top of the Empire State Building, watching tens of thousands of cranes in Hungary, seeking the last golden orioles in Suffolk’s poplar forests. She writes with heart-tugging clarity about wild boar, swifts, mushroom hunting, migraines, the strangeness of birds’ nests, and the unexpected guidance and comfort we find when watching wildlife.