Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard
by Annette LeBlanc Cate
Nonfiction
Picture book
* * * * Stars (Great!)
Annette LeBlanc Cate is an enthusiastic amateur bird-watcher who shares her passion for our feathered friends with a young audience in this introduction to bird-watching. Using goofy cartoon birds (who have something to say about EVERYTHING) she explains how to find and identify birds, how field guides work, how birds are classified, and much, much more. All you need to get started are your eyes and ears – pay attention and you’ll start seeing birds pretty much everywhere you go.
Although some of the pages are REALLY busy, kids should enjoy this and will giggle at the very personable bird illustrations as they learn about the joys of bird-watching. This is not a proper field guide, so if “Look Up!” piques their interest, kids will want to find a suitable field guide to help them identify the new species they discover.
Excerpts from the birds: Robin: Oh dear, I hope no one watches me! I haven’t preened yet! Cardinal: Tell me about it. I just started molting, and I look dreadful! Unidentified Sparrow(?): Mr. Sibley’s drawings are much nicer than the ones in this book.
Reviewed by YA Librarian
