Review Detail
Kids Nonfiction
230
A Great Way to Encourage a New Pastime
Overall rating
4.0
Writing Style
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
4.0
Learning Value
4.0
I have recently decided that birds are kind of creepy, with their pointy little beaks and soulless eyes, but if you have given this book to me as I child, it would have never left my side. I would have required a backpack, binoculars, camera, and snacks, and would have carefully removed the tiny magnifying glass and stored it away very safely. I would have studied the bird calls and the birds so that I could have identified them "out in the field", and would have dutifully played all of the bird games. The bird patch stickers at the end of the book? I would have diligently completed all of the tasks so I could have put those on the page, although I probably would have been stingy with the other bird stickers, and my brother would have eventually have stolen the page and put them on his lunch box.
My mother would have reluctantly let me smear peanut butter on a pinecone an hang it up in the yard, although she would not have bought me bird seed, which we didn't have in the house, suggesting instead that I roll it in cornflakes, which we did. She would have let me build a next out of sticks and dryer lint, as long as I didn't leave it on the porch. She would have told me to go make the bird calls for my brother, because she was busy.
There's a lot of good information in these pages about different kids of birds, nests, and food sources for birds, and I would have read that avidly, but it is the activities that would really have spoken to my "let's check all the boxes" ten-year-old heart. There is a good mix of photography and illustrations.
My mother would have reluctantly let me smear peanut butter on a pinecone an hang it up in the yard, although she would not have bought me bird seed, which we didn't have in the house, suggesting instead that I roll it in cornflakes, which we did. She would have let me build a next out of sticks and dryer lint, as long as I didn't leave it on the porch. She would have told me to go make the bird calls for my brother, because she was busy.
There's a lot of good information in these pages about different kids of birds, nests, and food sources for birds, and I would have read that avidly, but it is the activities that would really have spoken to my "let's check all the boxes" ten-year-old heart. There is a good mix of photography and illustrations.
Good Points
It is very helpful that this has a sturdier cardboard on the covers, so that the book will wear a little better in a backpack, but it does open and lay flat with little difficulty, for times when you need to consult it while looking at birds.
There are several other books in this Backpack Explorer series, including Bug Hunt, Beach Watch, and On the Nature Trail. I may have to go find Discovering Trees, because that was my big interest in high school after we had a 100 leaf collection project in my biology class. If you are already a birder, or just want to encourage a younger one, start packing a back pack now that includes Bird Watch, the Nat Geo Kids readers on various birds, Press' Bird Watch Book For Kids, binoculars, and an assortment of snacks to give to the young person in your life.
There are several other books in this Backpack Explorer series, including Bug Hunt, Beach Watch, and On the Nature Trail. I may have to go find Discovering Trees, because that was my big interest in high school after we had a 100 leaf collection project in my biology class. If you are already a birder, or just want to encourage a younger one, start packing a back pack now that includes Bird Watch, the Nat Geo Kids readers on various birds, Press' Bird Watch Book For Kids, binoculars, and an assortment of snacks to give to the young person in your life.
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