Bring on the Birds

Bring on the Birds

Written and illustrated by Susan Stockdale

32 pages, ages 2 – 6

Peachtree Publishers, 2011

This is a book I would choose by its cover. Even if I didn’t see the cover I would be hooked by the first pages.

“Swooping birds / whooping birds / birds with puffy chests… Dancing birds/ diving birds/ birds with fluffy crests.” Susan Stockdale’s engaging rhymes and spot-on rhythm, bold and bright illustrations, and her inclusion of honest-to-goodness science add up to a fun-to-read book that can’t be beat.

Stockdale was inspired to write about birds after watching blue-footed boobies perform their courtship dance on the Galapagos Islands. Her well-researched book introduces children to both familiar and exotic birds, from the Robin found in your backyard to the blue-crested Victoria Crowned Pigeon found in Papua New Guinea.

No matter what their colors, or the length of their legs… all birds have feathers and hatch from eggs. For older readers and curious parents, Stockdale provides information about each bird and where it lives.

Themes: birds, diversity

Beyond the book: visit birds in a zoo or aviary; watch birds at parks and outside your yard; help scientists learn more about birds by participating in Feeder Watch.

This review is part of PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Celebrate Picture Book Month!  Review copy provided by the publisher.