Duck Reviews Bird Books

Ahoy there All you Salty Seabirds!

Some people go to Florida for the winter and are called snowbirds.

I head to the sea to see what I can see. So, I am a Seabird.

My nickname has always been Duck, a duck is a type of seabird, so you can call me that too.

If it’s just too cold, I’ll check out the latest books on birds or go back and read some of the fine words written by my great-grandfather Arthur Cleveland Bent. While I am not an ornithologist by degree, I am learning about birds from his books, a few other guides and my obsession with the art and story of birds in children’s books. I am not an accomplished artist either but am having a whole lot of fun with painting birds along the way. Follow me as I collect knowledge and share it with you.

I am reading these Life Histories of North American Birds by Arthur Cleveland Bent and writing several drafts for picture books. I am using excerpts of his poetic words written on site as he ventured about in North American in the early 1900’s.

In the meantime, as I write my own, I have made it my mission to collect every single picture book written about birds. I have a good head start and as of today, I have 59 books that include guides and themed journals. A recent Clifton Strengths quiz for me, cited that I am a collector and a lover of history. So, while I am not sure where this enthusiastic new direction will lead me, I am compelled to start this conversation with myself. What if? While collecting children’s books, I am reviewing and categorizing and then wondering if there could be at least one picture book for each of the 700 species of birds that he wrote about in the 22 volumes for the Smithsonian. I could find these, write some or ask others to help in the projects. It is my hope to make my publishing company, Yellow Bucket Press, a nest for all pictures books about birds. In the same way, my great grandfather compiled information for adults, I am going to attempts to do the same for children and teens. A recent article int eh Audubon magazine cited how Harvard med students were taking bird identification courses to help with reading patients better. What if bird watching really helps the rain pay attention to detail and enhance memory. That is something to think about! It is quite the challenge, but I have time. I will be categorizing the books I find by the bird and location where the birds are found.

My very first book review is of Sounds of Nature, World of Birds (2018) by Robert Hunter. This was not my first book or my last, but it prompted me to wonder why this book and others are not in more hands of adults and children? This book has everything, a textured cover, bright colors, a variety of different sized birds and two large eye grabbing birds, one in pink for the girls and one in blue for the boys. What I love best about this book is that when you open it up, you are immediately sitting in the jungle. The first button that says press here is strategically placed right-hand sight of the book and visible without dominating the page or overpowering the illustrations. The sixty sounds within the ten habitats and mixed in together just as you might hear in the outdoors. Children and adults can learn to distinguish the specific sound of one bird.

While the largest part of the book contains the speaker and recorded sound elements, an open face page at the end of the book includes some fun facts about birds, how they are grouped and the various environment where they can be found and how they have adapted though the years.

Turn into the next bird book review will be, Outside your Window, A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Mark Hearld. (2012)