Those of us who read to or with children tend to be word people as well as bird people. A recent picture book from Canada recalls “An Exaltation of Larks” as it presents a dozen bird species and the group names associated with their flight styles. In Hawks Kettle, Puffins Wheel, And Other Poems of Birds in Flight, Susan Vande Griek offers brief, free-verse poems about each bird, followed by a short statement about its style of behavior when flying, fishing, diving, or protecting itself. Crows, for example, “mob” intruders or threats; Bald Eagles “cartwheel” during their courting flight; Northern Gannets “plunge-dive” when fishing. Mark Hoffman’s large, boldly stylized illustrations add visual impact to the descriptions and extend the book’s reach to young listeners. This is a book likely to spark …
For young readers who’re also word people, it may be interesting to have a dictionary handy. While “skein” is defined as “a flock of flying geese, usually in a V shape,” there’s no mention of the more common definition: a coil of yarn or thread, or something suggesting a thread. Similarly, “mob” means “to attack or harass an intruding animal, often to protect offspring,” but there’s no mention of the human crowd, or of rioting. The young listener may want to learn the meanings from which these bird words derive, as well as their descriptive meanings. That said, these are a dozen good words to learn as part of being an early birder.
SFBBO member Dudley Carlson, a biologist’s daughter, grew up in a family of birders and was Manager of Youth Services at Princeton (NJ) Public Library for 25 years. She believes that if children enjoy learning about birds and understand how important they are to our environment, then birds, nature and people will have a better chance at a healthy future.