For the Birds! Birding and Building Bird Love with Kids and Grandkids, with Favorite Bird Books, of course!
Grandycamp: Birds. There is scientific evidence that birds are linked to happiness levels, and so are Grandkids, so there’s that! And these days, we all need as much time as possible outside, in all seasons, and birds make for a sweet and colorful seek and find. Sooner or later, (sooner, no doubt) there will be questions – “Grandma, why do the birds fly in a V Formation?” Grandmas should always have answers, or ways to find out. The Cornell Lab Bird Academy Videos are a great resource for questions you didn’t even know you had!
My other faves - The Merlin Bird ID app where you can snap a picture and it will tell you the bird (and you can download just the birds in your region) - it came in handy when we found an injured bird last summer. We also love "answering" bird calls by playing them on our smart phone (also on that app, we've done it with ducks and pileated woodpeckers). And how about this cool info for the kids about birds singing to their eggs! And this fun picture of Minnesota Songbirds – click on each bird to hear their song.
These are our favorite beginner binoculars - they come in lots of colors. No worries when they hit the sidewalk. HERE are some considerations for “investment” binoculars. Many sights recommend starting with a homemade TP tube version, just to get the littles used to focusing in to a certain spot. In the beginning, it is mostly about careful listening after all. Kids are natural explorers - HERE are easy ways to get kids birding. And HERE is a post by a busy 17-yr-old birder and how he got hooked. MORE about developing an ear for the dawn chorus. Our local James Ford Bell Museum has made a printable Bird Bingo sheet for our local Twin Cities sightings. We also love these anywhere printable Bird Trivia Games – the drawings are sweet!
We also LOVE playing and learning with this Bird Bingo – bingo always kind of levels the playing field, don’t you think?! Because this version is so visual, Grace was in the mix before she was three! But I enjoy it too.
BACKYARD BIRDS
We are including some articles for seasonal feeding and considerations – late winter, very early spring are a time of most concern for keeping feathered friends fed, watered, and letting nesting materials stay.
How to make your yard bird friendly. You can also enter your zip code into this site to see what native plants are best for your area.
CRAFTS
I LOVE these tiny bird homes with doll furniture that this illustrator temporarily tapes to her window for fun.
A fun way to make flapping birds with a simple template.
How about a virtual nature journaling course? HERE are a few free lesson samples.
HERE is a free printable Minnesota Bird Coloring Book
LOCAL EAGLE CAMS
Eagles remain in pairs and, if they successfully produce young at a nest, they are likely to return to that nest year after year, adding 1-2 ft. of nesting material each time. In Minnesota there can be eggs as early as mid-February. Both parents incubate the eggs and switch several times a day. In the spring, I often have our local eagle cam link up on my laptop to check the nest activity several times a day - it is a close up and personal learning experience for the kids. Find an eagle cam in your area!
ADVENTURES
Because it is an outside activity, Birdwatching events are not restricted much by Covid and are starting up again soon – check Park Boards and Nature Centers where you live. Some also have Owl pellets for dissecting - even kits to do at home!
The Annual February Cornell Lab Great Backyard Bird Count. Each year people from around the world come together to watch, learn about, count, and celebrate birds.
Road Scholar has many adventures in the “birding” search, some for small groups, families, and grandparent/grandchild. As I write, it is -18 outside, so Costa Rica and Southwest Florida literally jumped off the page!
BOOKS
Our “Reader’s Dozen” picks. Amazon links are included for your convenience and to keep Grandycamp ad-free. Here is a Bookshop link, if you want to order online but prefer to support Independent Bookstores. We also love it when you purchase local and borrow from the library! We are always adding new publications to our shopping links – it is just so hard to choose, and we don’t want you to miss classics like Make Way for Ducklings! We finish out this post with Penguin Fun, so be sure to keep scrolling!
How to Find a Bird by Jennifer Ward, illus. Diana Sudyka. Ages 4-8. ISBN-10: 1481467050, ISBN-13: 978-1481467056 Ward’s enticing text pulls readers in with its welcoming and encouraging tone as two children demonstrate that “there are a lot of ways to find a bird.” Sudyka’s motion-filled watercolor gouache and digital illustrations are both informative and beautiful, with bird names labeled throughout. This inspiring picture book reminds readers that “we can all be birdwatchers!”
A Nest is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston, illus. Sylvia Long. Ages 4-8. ISBN-10: 1452161356, ISBN-13: 978-1452161358 Gorgeous and informative look at the fascinating world of nests, from those of tiny bee hummingbirds to those of orangutans high in the rainforest canopy. Poetic in voice and elegant in design, this carefully researched book introduces children to a captivating array of nest facts and intricacies.
Wild Wings by Jane Yolen, photos by Jason Stemple. Ages 4-6. ISBN-10: 1563979047, ISBN-13: 978-1563979040 Short, evocative poetry for young readers to witness up close the joy of birds. Reminding you also of her Caldecott Award-winning Owl Moon.
The Big Book of Birds by Yuval Zommer. Ages 6-8. ISBN-10: 0500651515, ISBN-13: 978-0500651513 Distinctive illustrations show off some of the most colorful, flamboyant, impressive, and wacky birds with text that is chatty, funny, and full of remarkable facts. Picture-book charm pairs with informative nonfiction to make a beautiful, large-format title bursting with hummingbirds, peacocks, flamingos, bald eagles, secretary birds, puffins, red-crowned cranes, and more. The book also invites young bird-watchers to protect birds where they live and make their gardens bird-friendly.
Red & Lulu by Matt Tavares. Ages 3-7. ISBN-10: 0763677337, ISBN-13: 978-0763677336 When their towering evergreen home is cut down, a pair of cardinals is separated. But one chases the other all the way to New York City, where their tree becomes a major holiday tourist attraction. The illustrations are sublime, and when the cardinals find each other again, it is a bit of real holiday magic.
Feathers: Not just for Flying by Mellissa Stewart. Ages 6-9. ISBN-10: 1580894313, ISBN-13: 978-1580894319Young naturalists explore sixteen birds in this elegant introduction to the many, remarkable uses of feathers. A concise main text highlights how feathers are not just for flying. More curious readers are invited to dig deeper with informative sidebars that underscore how feathers of all shapes and sizes help birds with warming or cooling, protect them from the sun, help them swim, glide or even dig. Both common and exotic species, the new and the familiar, part science journal, part read-along nonfiction.
The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies, illus. Melissa Sweet. Ages 6-10. ISBN-10: 0618243437, ISBN-13: 978-0618243433 As a young boy (c.1804), Audubon was determined to find out if the birds nesting near his Pennsylvania home would really return the following spring. Through careful observation, James laid the foundation for all that we know about migration patterns today. Capturing the early passion of this bird-obsessed young man as well as the meticulous study and scientific methods behind his research, this lively, gorgeously illustrated biography will inspire.
Beaks! by Sneed Collard III, illus. Robin Brickman. Ages 4-8. ISBN-10: 1570913889, ISBN-13: 978-1570913884 Young naturalists explore a variety of birds, their habitats, and how their beaks help them build, eat, and survive. Fun facts about how beaks are designed and used as tools by birds of all shapes and sizes. Bright, bold cut and molded paper illustrations create amazingly realistic tableaus of birds in their natural environments with their beaks in action.
Tiny Bird: A Hummingbird’s Amazing Journey by Robert Burleigh, illus. Wendell Minor. Ages 5-9. ISBN-10: 1627793690, ISBN-13: 978-1627793698 Today Tiny Bird begins its amazing journey south for the winter, traveling as fast as thirty miles an hour for hundreds of miles on end. The trip is long, with savage weather and many predators along the way, but Tiny Bird is built for this epic journey, eventually arriving at its winter home. Light and motion-filled illustrations celebrate the mpressive feat of this small but mighty creature.
This is the Nest that Robin Built by Denise Fleming. Ages 2-8. ISBN-10: 1481430831, ISBN-13 : 978-1481430838 Robin is building a nest, and her friends are ready to help! The squirrel trims the twigs. The dog brings the string. The horse shares his straw. And then a surprise gatefold spread reveals how Robin knits them all together to make a safe and cozy home for her babies, a celebration of bits and pieces, of process, and creation. The verse is saturated with alliteration and internal rhymes and the collage illustrations gain bold, mottled textures from varied artistic techniques.
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell, illus. Patrick Benson. Ages 3-7. ISBN-10: 0763617105, ISBN-13: 978-0763617103 Stunning illustrations from striking perspectives capture anxious little owls as they worry. Not surprisingly, joyous flapping and dancing and bouncing greet the mother’s return, lending a celebratory tone to the ending of this comforting tale. Never has the plight of young ones who miss their mother been so simply told or so beautifully rendered. Board book version available.
Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck by Lisa Westberg Peters, illus. Sam Williams. Ages3-5. ISBN-10: 9780688161781, ISBN-13: 978-0688161781 Enchanting rhyme and repetition and absolutely winsome illustrations of the cold (but brave!) little duck who arrives a bit too early for miserable and still-frozen spring. Board book version available.
DIANNE’S PICK: We lost a brilliant and cherished friend, colleague, and mentor, Dr. Dianne Monson, in early March 2020. We decided to honor her on our lists with a book we just know she would pick!
Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert. Ages baby-3. ISBN-10: 9780152009861, ISBN-13: 978-0152009861 An escaped house cat encounters twelve common birds in the backyard but captures only feathers for lunch. Includes bird guide and Ehlert’s expressive, bright, colorful cut paper collage style.
PENGUIN FUN
One of my favorite memories with the Grands was, having read Mr. Popper’s Penguins together, watching the Jim Carrey version of the movie. In the movie version, Mr. Popper is trying to accomodate the penguins in a New York penthouse. The kids were literally falling off the couch laughing - pure delight.
Another fun follow-up is inviting Penguins into your house with Google 3D. I practiced first, and the kids pretended, of course, but the results are fun pictures with Penguins in your living room! HERE are the instructions.
P.L. Travers, MR. POPPER’S PENGUINS (read aloud)
Toni Buzzeo, ONE COOL FRIEND
Sophie Webb, MY SEASON WITH THE PENGUINS: AN ANTARCTIC JOURNAL
Sandra Markle, PENGUINS: GROWING UP WILD
Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, AND TANGO MAKES THREE
Betty Tatham, PENGUIN CHICK
Judy Sierra, ANTARCTIC ANTICS: A BOOK OF PENGUIN POEMS
by Karen Ritz, creator of www.GrandyCamp.info – website and social for active, busy grandparents, B.S. Children’s Literature and Illustration, University of Minnesota, illustrator of 46 children’s books, and “Gramma” to Jack and Grace.
Dr. Rebecca Rapport, retired Children’s Literature Professor, University of Minnesota, former editor of New Books for Young Readers, practicing with many Grand Nieces and Nephews, and now a brand new Grandma to Damien!
If you are a bird-lover, you might know bird-lovers having birthdays, and you might need a card with their name customized in the Happy Birthday lyrics. Just sayin’! If you joined our newsletter subscription above, you get a secret code for free shipping anytime you order. Thank you for supporting small business!