  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 03/01/2015 PreS-Gr 1—Rockwell answers a common question: What characteristics set birds apart from other animals? It's not just having a beak or wings or laying eggs that makes an animal a bird, she explains. Rather, it's feathers—whether colorful or dull, outstanding or camouflaged—that are the key trait. The book includes both common and lesser-known types of birds from around the world as examples, such as the Andean condor, the rock pigeon, and the toucan. Each illustration is labeled and, where pertinent, identified as male or female. Lively but minimal text with short sentences and a rhythmic pattern make this valuable both as a read-aloud and as an option for budding readers. Rockwell's bright, eye-catching images, rendered in gouache, watercolor, and colored pencil, add to the appeal. VERDICT This attractive and informative title is a great addition to school and public libraries and a strong option for curriculum-related studies of nature for the very young.—Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, formerly at Trinity-Pawling School, Pawling, NY - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 05/01/2015 Against the blue sky of an African savanna, a regal common ostrich stands beside a tiny superb starling, setting the stage for Rockwell’s picture-book exploration of birds of all colors and sizes. While comparing and contrasting birds, the author connects them through the refrain, “A bird is a bird because . . .” Pointing to beaks, wings, and eggs as defining features, Rockwell explains the significance of each and crosses other animal candidates off the list (a platypus, a fly, a snake) because they lack one very important avian feature: feathers! Through a combination of gouache, watercolor, and colored pencil, the cheerful illustrations boast a surprising amount of detail and variety, including carefully labeled depictions of both male and female birds. The full-page pictures and minimal text are just right for young readers, but older children will enjoy learning the names of the multitude of birds inhabiting the scenes, ensuring that this book will go far with new readers and budding birders. - Copyright 2015 Booklist. Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2015 In this science picture book for the preschool set, Rockwell guides children through the characteristics that distinguish birds from other animals. First, there’s a beak, adapted for picking fruit, catching fish, pecking insects out of trees, or gathering nectar. Of course, there are wings, useful not only for flying and gliding, but also for swimming. And, as many listeners will anticipate, birds begin life in eggs, some in a tree, and some on the ground. However, as Rockwell pauses to point out, a platypus has a beak, a fly has wings, and snakes hatch from eggs. So what gives birds exclusive bragging rights? “Only a bird has . . . feathers!” This baby step in observation and classification is well suited to early childhood educational settings, with colored pencil and watercolor images of birds that look cheerily content but not anthropomorphized. Most pages feature a single observation (e.g., “Feathers can stand out”; “Feathers can blend in”), which facilitates pauses for comments, discussion, and prediction. Birds are shown in their habitats and are tidily, unobtrusively labeled. Limited text in oversized sans serif font may even encourage emergent readers to attempt a solo flight. EB - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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