Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Every Day Birds
Illustrator: Dylan Metrano
Nonfiction Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
Scholastic, 2016 ISBN: 978-0545699808
No matter where we live, in a city or in the country, there are birds. We see them sitting in trees and on window sills, dipping through the sky, and filling the air with their calls and songs. Seeing birds gives many people a lot of joy, and getting to know their names and their habits can be very rewarding.
The author of this book wants to help children to get to know the every day birds that they might see as they go about their day. Getting to know the birds and their ways allows children to connect with them, and in so doing they learn that an interaction with nature can be a gift.
In her book, the author tells us about twenty commonly seen North American birds. Some of these species are seen on other continents too. For each species we are given the bird’s name, we see a gorgeous richly detailed and full color cut paper picture of it, and we are also given a few words that help us to identify the bird when we see it.
We begin with a little bird that has a personality that is many times bigger than it is. This is the chickadee, and it has a “wee black cap” of feathers on its head. It is followed by another larger-than-life character, the jay, which is a “loud and bold” bird. The cardinal, with it tell-tale peak of feathers on its head “flashes fire,” while the finch “is clothed in gold.”
Other birds we meet include a crow, a woodpecker, a robin, a goose, and a gull.
At the back of the book the author tells us a little more about the book and we can tell from her words how much she loves birds. Readers will also find further information about the twenty birds that we met on the pages.
