F is for Feathers: An Informational Picture Book Review and Giveaway

Along with the many fine books that Sleeping Bear Press publishes, they also have a line of alphabet books. Two years ago I reviewed H is for Honey and T is for Thor and today I'm bringing you a new title, F is for Feathers: A Bird Alphabet.  I have featured both the author, Helen Wilbur, and the illustrator, Andy Atkins on my blog. I am happy to share another one of their beautiful STEM books.

Each of the alphabet books in this series combines poetry that is accessible to younger readers and text that 2-4th graders will understand. 

REVIEW

From the publisher's cover sheet:

Grab your binoculars, this new alphabet tour by Helen L. Wilbur is a grand exploration into all things birds! With over 10,000 bird species on Earth, there is plenty to explore. The featured creatures vary in size, shape, color, and abilities. And besides being beautiful to look, at birds are a critical part of our ecosystems and support biodiversity on our planet.

Every page teaches about either bird anatomy, types of birds, or a vast variety of related concepts such as their behavior and language, geographic range, migration, threats, and the role of an ornithologist. 

Here is some of what I learned and enjoyed in F is for Feathers.

B is for Beak

Did you know that the shape and size of a bird's beak depend on the food it eats?  

Catching insects in the air,

cracking nuts and seeds,

sipping nectar, peeling fruit,

breaks show how each bird feeds.

C is for Chickadees and Caching 

Chickadees cache hundreds of seeds and insects each day and remembers them in the winter. Did you know that chickadees add more dee notes to the chick-a-dee-dee to give out a predator call?

F is for Feathers

Soft and bright, strong and light,

perfectly designed for flight,

for keeping warm and dry and sleek,

feathers make all birds unique.

H is for Habitat

J is for Jays

Jays, ravens, crows and magpies belong to the corvid family of birds. Corvids can be loud and annoying and are treated as nuisance birds. But cross them at your peril. Crows can remember your face and they carry grudges.

L is for Lovebirds

Although this entry focused mostly on lovebird parrots, it also mentioned other bird families that begin with courtship. One of the birds that Helen Wilbur mentions is the sand crane. Here's a video of cranes I've seen in Florida. Skip the ads and enjoy!

N is for Nests

Who doesn't remember the joy of finding a birds nest? My grandchildren have been enjoying watching brown thrashers build their next inside their stacked garden in Charlotte, NC.

Photographs courtesy C. Kasten

When I think of nests, I also think of my FB friend, Melodye Shore who posts beautiful pictures she takes of hummingbirds from her garden in coastal Orange County, California. 

This verse in F is for Feathers reminded me of the bluebird boxes I saw on a golf course in Tennessee.

   

Come along the bluebird trail,

nesting boxes in a row.

Safe and warm in cozy homes,

little baby bluebirds grow.

U is for Updraft

This page definitely belongs in a book about birds. The text discuses how birds ride on spiraling thermals enabling to soar over many miles during migrations.

Z is for Zones

In this perfect ending to this beautiful and informative book, the information on this page discusses the four north-south flyway zones in North America and how important they are to migrating birds.

CURRICULUM RESOURCE

This book is a shoo-in as an important resource for elementary school educators. The front matter includes a beautiful illustration of the parts of a bird and a glossary. The back matter include suggestions on identifying and helping birds.

GIVEAWAY

Leave a comment by August 8 if you are interested in winning this book. Please leave your name and email address if you are new to my blog. If you prefer, drop me a note here. If you are a librarian or educator, your name will be entered twice. U.S. addresses only. 

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SAGUARO'S GIFTS: A Informational PIcture Book Review and Giveaway

 I'm always impressed with the scope of picture books that Sleeping Bear Press publishes. Today's book is no exception.  SAGUARO's GIFTS should adorn elementary school classrooms and family bookshelves with its evocative yet child-friendly poetry by Kurt Cyrus and gorgeous illustrations by Andy Atkins. 

REVIEW

That opening page is followed by 

The world is dark. The bloom is white.

A bat emerges from the night.

"Hello, Saguaro!"

Every year I find the sweetest nectar here.

And happy birthday, by the way.

One hundred years, this very day!

Throughout the book, desert animals, birds, and insects pay homage to the cactus on its' 100th birthday. Play a game with young readers and ask them to find the hummingbird, woodpecker, owl, butterflies, a coyote, and a tortoise. 

All the animals pause when they hear,

A bobcat races up the trail

with javelina on his tail.

"Clear the way!" the bobcat screeches,

scrambling to the highest reaches.

 

The tortoise ends the day:

Another day is done old friend.

One hundred years have come and gone.

but you and I go on and on.

 

 

The book ends with a spread showing a meteor lighting up the night sky and the words, 

Another gift exchange tomorrow--

Happy birthday, dear Saguaro.

By the way, the flowers appear from April through June and are open for less than 24 hours. On a trip to Arizona nine years ago, I saw how huge these cacti are but unfortunately did not see their beautiful flowers.

GIVEAWAY

Leave me a comment by May 30 to enter this giveaway. Please leave your full name and email address if you are new to my blog. You can also email me if you prefer. Become a new follower or share this on social media and I'll enter your name twice. Make sure you tell me what you did! U.S. addresses only. 

Congratulations to Marci Whitehurst who won So Much More to Helen from last week's blog.

Three Just-for-Fun Picture Books: Reviews and Giveaways

Congratulations to  Keturah Lamb who won my ARC of Maybe He Just Likes You from last week's blog.

We're back to picture books today and I have some fun ones for you to try to win for a child, grandchild, or student in your class. Thanks to Sleeping Bear Press, I seem to have an endless supply to review and pass along!

REVIEWS

Experiment #256  by Marty Kelley, is a cleverly written and illustrated STEAM-focused book for the youngest reader. The funny story of how Ian builds a jet pack for his dog, Wilbur, and all the things that go wrong is told through the illustrations, making this a book that pre-readers can figure out from the pictures. Minimal text is written in the form of Ian's notes about the experiment.

On the first few pages Ian builds the jet pack but wonders why he has leftover parts. 

NOTES:
Leftover parts were definitely the brakes.
Adding the turbo blaster was probably a mistake.
Lisa is not happy. 

Outside, Ian and Wilbur run into more trouble.

NOTES:
Garden fence need some repairs.
Wilbur got tangled up in the undies that Mrs. Marino was hanging on the line.
Mrs. Marino is not happy. 

In the end Ian designs Experiment #257, a Snack Blaster that blasts out dog treats. Wilbur is hugely happy...but their neighbor, Mrs. Marino is not. You'll have to get the book to see why!

By the way, the Front Matter is very clever. Kelley has small vignettes showing twelve of Ian's previous experiments...and disasters. 

******

Back Roads, Country Toads is not the first book by author Devin Scillian and illustrator Tim Bowers. I was drawn into this book by the first lines, "On a warm spring morning, Hank and Buckaroo were sitting in their favorite drainpipe near Cooper's General Store. They were licking up the last few sips of a bottle of strawberry soda and they were as happy as two country toads could be."  

The adventure starts when Hank and Buckaroo overhear two men talking about fly fishing. They assume that the men are going fishing for flies...what else could it mean?

When they get to the fishing spot, Emmitt, a friendly raccoon, overhears their delight:

"It's going to be a fly cafeteria!" yelped Buckaroo.
"Oh yeah, said Hank. "A down-home,
big-time fly barbecue!

After Bukaroo almost gets hooked by a fake fly, the toads are disappointed to discover that fishermen use fake flies for lures. But Hank turns the tables by using Emmitt's stolen fish as a lure for a fly dinner. 

"Yahoo!" yelled Buckaroo. Their tongues
darted through the air, snapping up fly after fly,
and the two toads reeled them in by the dozens.

In the end, "... two very plump, very happy country toads waddled back to town for a strawberry soda and an afternoon nap." 

"Toadally" sounds good, doesn't it?

********

Invisible Lizard in Love follows chameleon Napoleon's first book, Invisible Lizard  in which he sorrows over not having any friends (after all--he's a chameleon, so who sees him?). In this second book, written by Kurt Cyrus and illustrated by Andy Atkins, Napoleon's new-found friends desert him when they find love. He's alone again!

Napoleon sulks and then scratches his initial inside a heart on a tree. When the branch snaps, 

Moss and bark rained from the sky.
Fern grounds fluttered by.
A warty lumpstool fell onto
the far end of the branch.
Napoleon held on.

Napoleon realizes that the only thing which is keeping the limb balanced is the "big warty lumpstool" who turns out to be a girl chameleon aptly named (who else?) -- Josephine.  

The two chameleons slowly move towards one another, afraid to disturb the balance of the precarious limb.

They kept on creeping. 

Until they meet in the middle of the branch. 

Like a chameleon itself, science and friendship lessons are hidden within the story and illustrations. 

******

One of the challenges of writing a good picture book is that the adult reader and the child are both entertained. These three picture books soundly meet that challenge. 

GIVEAWAY

Leave me a comment if you would like to win Back Roads, Country Toads or Invisible Lizard in Love. (I'm saving Experiment #256 for my grandkids). Make sure you leave me your email address if you are new to my blog and which book you are interested in. Giveaway ends September 26 and is limited to the continental United States.