REVIEW: Birds

Henkes, K.  (2009).  Birds.  China:  Greenwillow Books.

9780061363047

In the morning, a child (at the end she is revealed to be a girl...but through the majority of the text, almost any child should be able to place him or herself in the text) looks through the window at the birds beyond.  From there, she provides information on everything she knows about birds.

Since the illustrations show a pastoral setting, the images in the book may seem exotic to children accustomed to the cityscape (however, there is still an incorporation of telephone wires).  These illustrations, done by Laura Dronzek, are particularly wonderful.  She used acrylic paints to create life-sized illustrations of the birds the girl can see through her window.  My favorite among the illustrations is to the left.

Activities:

This would be an excellent book to share with students before having them bird watch out their own window (or on a trip to a park or nature preserve).  Other options include incorporating this into a lesson on the various breeds of birds.

For younger readers, a teacher can read the book aloud and draw the child's attention to the colors of the birds, encouraging the child to name the colors.  Children more proficient at writing could also write an "everything I know about birds" paragraph after finishing the book.  Other potential topics include the cloud shapes and types, weather and seasons (although the book does assume the weather patterns of the Northern Hemisphere).

Quotes of Note:

"In the morning, I hear birds singing through the open window."

"Sometimes they [birds] are so black that you can't see their eyes or their feathers, just their shapes."

"Sometimes, in winter, a bird in a tree looks like one red leaf left over."