Bird Books for Kids Archives

January 10, 2014February 28, 2014

Brilliant Birds

Brilliant Birds (Read Me!: Extreme Animals) by Isabel Thomas is a beginning reader with a bright pink cover that is sure to catch a child’s eye. It also cries out to be picked up with the flamboyant “Read Me!” in the upper right corner. With that enticement, who can say no?

Part of the Extreme Animals series, this book looks at unusual birds, such as regal eagles, helicopter hummingbirds, noisy Kakapos, and cunning crows. Illustrated with big, bright color photographs and with plenty of high-interest facts in the sidebars, it is likely a child will want to pick this title up again and again.

Did the pink flamingo on the book cover catch your eye? These “extreme” dancing flamingos just might put a smile on your face.

Related activity: If your family is interested in birds, you might want to check out the Great Backyard Bird Count citizen science opportunity and suggestions for bird-related activities posted at Growing with Science.

Reading level: Grades 1-3
Publisher: Heinemann-Raintree (August 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1410946843
ISBN-13: 978-1410946843

Disclosures: This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at not extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

September 27, 2013September 26, 2013

Graphs, Graphs, Graphs!

Children are being introduced to graphing at younger and younger ages, and may be ready to graphically record data as early as kindergarten. Graphs, Graphs, Graphs! (A+ Books: Displaying Information) by Kelly Boswell is a useful way to introduce young children to the beginning concepts in a very concrete and visually-stimulating way.

Starting with the question “What is a graph?”, Boswell then explains the differences between pictographs, bar graphs, line graphs and pie graphs, She also explains how they are used.

With a combination of bright, colorful photographs and interesting illustrations of different types of graphs, the book will be highly appealing to visual learners. The back matter includes three questions for critical thinking that use Common Core standards, which is helpful for educators.

Sometimes a fresh look is all that is needed to help a child figure out something new. Graphs, Graphs, Graphs! is just the tool educators should have on hand for those times.

You can see a Google Preview on the Capstone website.

Related Activity:

Young children might enjoy these on-line graphing games at Turtle Diary.

Reading Level: 1-2
Interest Level: PreK-2
Publisher: Capstone Press (August 1, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1476533369
ISBN-13: 978-1476533360

Disclosures: This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes. I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at not extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

July 19, 2013July 19, 2013

National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America

Have you seen all the great books about birds that have come out for children recently? Add the National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America: The Best Birding Book for Kids from National Geographic’s Bird Experts by Jonathan Alderfer to the list. It takes kid-friendly bird guides to a whole new level.

Of course, the first thing that strikes the reader is the National Geographic quality photographs and artwork. Plus, it wouldn’t be National Geographic with really nice maps of where many of the birds are found (sneak in a geography lesson here?) Now add a lot of good tips for identification and easily-digestible facts about the different birds. Stir in a few bird-related activities, and you have a fantastic bird guide for kids.

The organization is super. Realistically, children are going to want to discover what is in their back yards, and this guide makes that possible with chapters like “Eastern Back Yards” and “City Streets and Parks.” When the child visits a new place, he or she can brush up on the birds beforehand. For those who become excited about birds, there are sections of “rock stars,” interesting birds that catch people’s attention and stretch the child’s knowledge further.

Truly, any child interested in nature and the outdoors will benefit from a copy of this book. It may seem like hype to call it the “best birding book for kids,” but this guide definitely is a “rock star.”

For a related activity, see Bird and Moon for a poster about learning bird songs.

If you are looking for more books about birds for children, check out our list at Science Books for Kids.

National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America: The Best Birding Book for Kids from National Geographic’s Bird Experts

Age Range: 7 – 9 years
Paperback: 176 pages (also available with library binding)
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books (March 12, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426310943
ISBN-13: 978-1426310942

Book provided by my local public library.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.