{"id":807,"date":"2021-06-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weebly-import-post-49"},"modified":"2026-06-17T01:43:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T01:43:23","slug":"dudley-carlsons-kids-bird-book-recommendation-nesting-season","status":"publish","type":"wingbeat","link":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/dudley-carlsons-kids-bird-book-recommendation-nesting-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Dudley Carlson’s Kids Bird Book Recommendation – Books About Baby Birds"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Guest Blogger Dudley Carlson<\/strong><\/div>
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Babies! They\u2019re everywhere this time of year \u2013 on the ground, in the trees, in holes, and especially on the water, though we don\u2019t get to see those born in the far north, whose parents migrate through here in spring or fall, until they\u2019re past their babyhood.\u00a0<\/span>Pointing out fledglings at the feeder or water dish \u2013 especially during\u00a0\u00a0the period when they\u2019re still flapping and begging and clearly demanding food from their parents \u2013 is an easy way to get young children interested in watching …<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

birds of all kinds.\u00a0 So is reading about them together.<\/span>\u200bHelen Frost\u2019s poetic story, Hello, I\u2019m Here!<\/a><\/em> follows a Sandhill Crane chick from inside the egg as it peeps and struggles to break free, sees its mother for the first time, meets its sibling, and begins to explore the world. Crane chicks, like ducklings, are precocial; they\u2019re born with feathers, can walk and swim soon after birth, and must learn immediately how to find food and avoid dangers (such as snapping turtles).\u00a0Rick Lieder\u2019s photographs fill the pages from edge to edge, so the listener is right there in the marsh with both adults and chicks. This brief poem covers only the beginning of a chick\u2019s life \u2013 literally the first day; but the last page offers more information about their life cycle for the adult reader or the curious older child. This could be read to a very young child, and after one reading the pictures can be explored in detail. It\u2019s a great conversation-starter for the very youngest. (Candlewick Press, 2019.)\u00a0<\/span><\/div> <\/span>\"Picture\"<\/a><\/span><\/span>
\u200bLoon<\/a><\/em>, by Susan Vande Griek, takes somewhat older readers (4-8) into the nest of a Common Loon whose first egg is just hatching. Both parents are already out on the water, calling out to their two chicks to jump in and follow. But this book continues through the first summer, until the parents migrate, and into the fall, when the young birds fly out to sea, where they remain for three to four years until they are ready to return to the north to find a mate and a new home. Karen Reczuch\u2019s paintings bring the loon family and their surroundings to life, and here again young readers can visually immerse themselves in the loons\u2019 habitat or learn more from the back pages, which provide information on the loon\u2019s life cycle and other loon species.\u00a0 (Groundwood Books, 2011.)<\/span><\/div>
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For a completely different lifestyle, Paul Meisel presents My Tiny Life, by Ruby T. Hummingbird<\/a><\/em> (illustrated by the author). This diary begins on May 15: \u201cToday I poked my way out of this tiny egg,\u201d and proceeds with entries about being fed, flying for the first time, finding food, and experimenting with the aggressive acrobatics that hummingbirds perform. Flying south to winter in Mexico, molting into adult plumage, migrating back across the ocean to his birthplace (yes, Ruby T. is a male), and finding a potential mate complete this story, which is told in short sentences for new readers or younger listeners. Endpapers and a back page provide a glossary, resources, and extended information for older children about hummingbirds in general and this species in particular. Though the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is outside our range, this book provides an easy way to introduce children to the hummingbird group.\u00a0 Put up a feeder and help them learn about western species. (Holiday House, 2021.)\u00a0All three stories put the reader in the center of the action, with pictures that amplify the text. If you have bird feeders or live near the water or near a park with trees, shrubs and flowers, these are stories that can help your children \u201cwarm up\u201d to looking around, noticing what birds are present and what they\u2019re doing.\u00a0 Then you can visit the library for a field guide or use your phone to find an app to help identify what you\u2019ve seen.<\/div>
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As I was thinking about very young children and the pleasure of reading aloud, I discovered to my surprise that our booklist, which has been growing for eight years, didn\u2019t include the classic picture story about a bird family, which is eighty years old this year. Robert McCloskey\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Make Way for Ducklings<\/a><\/em>\u00a0follows a pair of Mallards who make their nest in the Charles River, near Boston\u2019s Public Garden. When Mr. Mallard decides to \u201ctake a little trip up the river,\u201d Mrs. Mallard is left to care for the ducklings on her own. A friendly policeman who has fed the parents peanuts sees her as she attempts to cross a busy street to reach the Public Garden, and it is his intervention \u2013 holding back oncoming traffic and calling for reinforcements to make sure that the ducklings reach their destination in safety \u2013 that saves the day (and the ducklings).\u00a0 Despite its age (obvious from the cars in the illustrations), this is still a favorite among preschoolers and a pleasure to read aloud to a child in your lap or a group at your feet. And if you\u2019re visiting Boston, you can take your children to see the Mallard family. Nancy Sch\u00f6n\u2019s statues of Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings were placed in the Public Garden in 1987 in tribute to McCloskey.\u00a0 (Original: Viking, 1941; 75th anniversary edition Penguin\/Random House, 2016.)\u00a0<\/span>\u200bSFBBO member Dudley Carlson, a biologist\u2019s 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. You can see all of Dudley’s book recommendations\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u200b<\/div>
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