by Lisa J. Amstutz; illus. by Maria Luisa Di Gravio
32 pages; ages 5-7. Albert Whitman & Company, 2018
Mom and I slip silently out the door. Today we’re going to count birds.
It’s just Jay and his mom this year, because Gramps has “flown south” for the winter. They’ve got everything they need: woolly caps, bird guides, binoculars, and a clipboard.
What I like about this book: Lisa Amstutz plunks us right into a bird count. You can almost hear the snow crunching underfoot, the calls of chickadees and jays, the rat-tat-tat of woodpeckers drumming on a tree. You can almost see that flash of yellow (kinglet) and a tufted titmouse “all dressed up in his suit and top hat.” You can feel your toes freeze and, at the end, the warmth of a mug of hot cocoa.
I like how she sneaks in one brief sentence connecting Jay and mom’s activities with how scientists will use the data. Most of that info is at the back where there is plenty of Back Matter! There is more information about the Christmas Bird Count, and how to join plus a bird count check list you can copy and take outside when you do your own bird walks.
And there is the search for the dove.
Head over to Archimedes Notebook for some Beyond-the-Book activities and another book about Counting Birds.
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Copyright © 2018 Sue Heavenrich All Rights Reserved.