Have You Heard the Nesting Bird?

Exploring the calls of various avian species, the gently rhyming narrative of this lovely work of picture-book natural history continually returns to the question of the nesting bird - a robin - and what sound she makes. Her silence reveals something to the attentive listener and reader: namely, that she is sitting upon her eggs. Eventually, of course, there will be something to hear, as the baby birds begin to hatch...

I appreciated the structure of author Rita Gray's text in Have You Heard the Nesting Bird?, as it highlights the calls of various birds, using both descriptive text and onomatopoeia, while continually returning to the titular question about the nesting bird. This really drives home the central message here, about nesting show more birds staying quiet, in order to protect their eggs and baby birds. The afterword, written as an interview with one such bird, provides more detailed information about this subject. The accompanying artwork from Kenard Pak is lovely, created using a subtle earthy palette, and beautifully capturing the delicate charm of each bird depicted. All in all, a sweet little book, one which communicates its informational message in an engaging way, and one that I would recommend to young bird and nature lovers. show less

Can you hear a nesting bird? As two children play outdoors, they observe a variety of backyard birds, but return time after time to watch a robin nesting in a tree. As the bird is still and quiet, so are the children. All are waiting.

Rhyming text and onomatopoeia will have readers mimicking the birds as they wait for the climax. “Mourning doves take their morning stroll. coah, cooo, cooo, coooo. Woodpecker calls from a tree with a hole. cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk.” After a first reading to delight in the luminous text and illustrations, pair this with Audubon plush bird toys with actual bird songs and a nonfiction bird guide (such as Backyard Birds by Nolting, Latimer and Peterson) for a fuller experience.

Gray uses figurative language show more splendidly, invoking playfulness (“Swallow slides from under a shingle.”) and the mystical (“Wood thrush turns the twilight still.”) Pak’s earth-toned, vibrant illustrations support the quiet of the nesting bird and the stillness needed to observe and respect birds.

The robin’s and the children’s patience is rewarded at the end as the title question is answered. In an afterword, Gray extends the events with an imagined interview with the robin. Budding birders may wish to visit the Journey North website to learn more about robins at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/robin/index.html show less

First of all, the illustrations are SUPER John Klassen-y. The color palette is so similar to [b:Sam and Dave Dig a Hole|20708761|Sam and Dave Dig a Hole|Mac Barnett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400887343s/20708761.jpg|39789300] that these books could be siblings.

This book has lots and lots of onomatopoeia birdsong, which I think would make it fun read-aloud if you're up for that kind of thing. It's relatively rare to find a good non-fiction picture book for story time, but this would work for preschoolers.

In gentle, rhyming text, Gray shows several different birds and their songs - but the nesting bird is quiet. Why? She's protecting her eggs. Back matter in Q&A format ("A Word with the Bird") explains more in depth. Kenard Pak's illustrations are lovely, as always, in a muted color palette.

This book came into our house from the library at the perfect time. We had been watching Momma Robin sitting on her nest on our back porch light for a few days. The story is unique with basically two parts. Kids are watching a nesting bird and noticing she isn't singing and at the same time lots of other song birds are coming around singing their unique call. This is a great way for kids to learn about the different songs. At the end is a lot of good facts about robins nesting and their fledglings that was super helpful while we waited for our baby to hatch and fledge. The other day we saw our single fledgling leave the nest and over the next couple days we watched baby learning to fly and hop around our yard with Daddy nearby. We show more haven't seen baby in a day. We hope she has learned to fly and is staying up high, well away of the neighborhood cats and dogs. show less

An engaging nature tale that builds like a story but also educates along the way. Complemented by thoughtful art that moves the story along. Bird songs as spoken word make this seem like a poetry book. Great for read aloud.

A fun read to any kids that is interested in birds. Pak's illustrations capture the simpleness of the birds life and the excitement that come with eggs in a nest.I remember being small and seeing robins nesting their eggs, it was just how the book described it. The Q&A with the bird at the end was a very creative way to put some real information about robins in the book.