As a family over the last three years we have become increasingly enchanted and intrigued by birds. Birds are everywhere and they are amazing to watch. We are loucky to have lots of different birds visiting our garden and sharing our local environment. From buzzards to woodpeckers, gulls to goldfinches, pheasants to herons, robins and wrens, magpies and jays. Over the last few years we have observed and learned to identify different birds. I love watching our garden birds early in the morning with a steaming mug of coffee. Just savouring theri songs, watching their interactions with other birds and garden visitors. Our feathered friends are fascinating and reading this new book from Dara McAnulty and Barry Falls has been inspirational, educational and a privilege, especially as we were lucky enough to have an early sneak peek.
In A Wild Child’s Book Of Birds Dara shares his passion and fascination for birds. He is incredibly knowledgeable and a wonderful wordsmith.
With Dara’s expert help, and love of all things avian, children and their grown ups can learn about bird behaviour, their features and characteristics, their habitats and diets, how what they do and where they live changes with the seasons and so much more about beaks and bills, nests and eggs, feathers, flight and feet.
Dara shares with readers his favourite songbirds and his favourite birds of prey.
There is a magnificent spread about Captivating Corvids which showed the children and I how to correctly identify all the black birds we see so often when out and about. Jackdaws, rooks, choughs, hooded and carrion crows. If you want to know how to tell the difference, you need to read this book.
Every page of this book is stunning. I love every word, every photograph and every brushstroke of every page. This is a carefully designed book that engages readers of all ages. The colours are striking and the illustrations are just amazing. This is a brilliant and beautiful book that would make a gorgeous gift for bird lovers and little readers yet to learn the wonders of the avian world.
Through this book Dara shares the awe and wonder of each season with his own lyrical tribute to the different times of the year. He describes the build up of birdsong in spring as birds build their ‘intricate avian cathedrals’. He tells of a ‘wondrous rhapsody of action’ as birds feed their hungry fledglings in the summer. Autumn is filled with ‘earthy smells as fungi swells’ and the ‘skies begin to echo, with trumpets and bugling honking. Jubilant salutations, a revelling avian carnival. Dara describes winter trees as ‘shadow maps of wonder’. He tells how ‘birds come together, to huddle and snuggle up tight.’ There is such emotion and beauty in Dara’s words and it is reflected with rich colours and a sprinkle of magic in Barry Fall’s illustrations.
Readers of this book I think will feel inspired to write their own descriptions of the seasons, they will want to add to this ‘half-full treasure trove’ with their own sketches, feather collections and recordings of sightings and songs. This book will make us all want to get outside and see how the world really does become richer when we notice and observe the plants and animals we share our wild world with.
There is so much to learn from this book. It is packed with fascinating facts, it is written with wisdom and love, and an infectious energy that really does make you want to delve deeper into the avian world and discover what our feathered friends have to teach us.
I have adored reading and re reading and sharing this book. It is one that we as a family will treasure, one that I am certain we will be giving as a gift many times to readers of all ages.
And, I am so very excited to see what Dara writes next.
This is a WONDERFUL Wild Child’s Book Of Birds.