A Place for Birds

review by Connor C., age 7, Boston MensaA Place for Birds is a nonfiction book that gives you solutions to problems that harm birds. I love this book. It tells you how you can help birds and gives you information about them.The illustrations are beautiful and realistic. The writing has very interesting facts. I learned a lot of things like “…natural wildfires regularly burned the land, keeping the plant growth under control.” That helped birds that need open woodlands. People started putting out the fires but the birds didn’t have open space anymore because the plants were crowded.In the front and back of the book, there are maps that show where different kinds of birds live. You can find a bird and look through the maps to see if it lives where you are. I like seeing what states the birds are in.Every page has extra information on the side that tells you more about the bird on that page.Kids who want to save the environment and love animals will love this book. Young kids would like the easy language and pictures. Older kids would like all the information, maps, facts, and the projects and suggestions to help birds.Birds are beautiful. I love their songs and it’s so cool watching them fly. Birds have lived on earth for more than 150 million years. On the first page, the book says, “If we work together to help these amazing winged creatures, there will always be a place for birds.” I really hope that there will always be a place for birds.

Melissa Stewart's _A Place for Birds_ (2009) follows the same general format as her excellent _A Place for Bats_ (2012). Both books are written in a kind of "split text" format, and both are illustrated by the estimable Higgins Bond in a sharp, realistic style of painting. Both books contain endpapers with twelve maps showing the range of various species. But with the bats book, the focus was mainly on the southeastern United States. With the birds book, the species is more of a cross- country selection. I found six species that were definitely from my home state of Tennessee: the great blue heron, the Eastern bluebird, the hermit thrush, the northern cardinal, the grasshopper sparrow, and the bald eagle. There were a couple that looked like they might pass through some of the time, but I couldn't be sure. The crested honeycreeper was clearly from Hawaii. The rare Kirtland's Warbler is still found either in the Bahamas or far to the north. And the Piping Plover is well out of Tennessee. But what about the spotted owl? It is to the west, now. But might it not one day move eastward? Who can say?The main text is on general information about birds, their nesting places, and their migration patterns. It gives general information about how we can help birds survive. The subtext gives more specific information: how DDT affected the bald eagle, how the _Exxon Valdez_ oil spill hurt the common murre, how dimming city lights in Chicago helped migrating birds, and how protecting forests helped the spotted owl.There is a good bibliography. Highly recommended.

As a birder, elementary teacher, and nature steward, I love this book! Every book in this series is an asset to my classroom library, but would be a lovely addition to any home library as well.

A Place For Birds is a wonderfully informative picture book about birds and how human actions are negatively and positively effecting their continued existence on Earth; something they have been doing for 150 million years. Higgins Bond’s illustrations are stunning, filled with vibrant colors and beautiful perspective views. This would be a nice addition to any elementary library or classroom for aiding in discussions on conservation and earth science.

Boldly colorful and intricate two-page habitat spreads of different birds offer appealing contrasting or complementing enhancements. Simple text makes it a good share for classroom or library science storytime. Further information is included in informative, but not overwhelming sidebars; a small cutaway includes a pictorial description of each bird's nest. Did you know that city lights can confuse migrating birds that actually use the stars to navigate? The endpapers are fascinating as well: for each of the birds highlighted, there is a visual representation of their range of locale across North America (and Hawaii), along with the picture of the bird. Excellent for use in a classroom library, Audubon Center, public library or personal collection. Based on this book, I will purchase every book in this series by this team.

Written by award-winning children's science author and naturalist Melissa Stewart, A PLACE FOR BIRDS is a real treat. Well-researched and factual, this gently cautionary but optimistic book is aesthetically appealing, with gorgeous, naturalistic, full-color paintings by renowned illustrator Higgins Bond (A PLACE FOR BUTTERFLIES, with Melissa Stewart). In simple yet compelling language, the author explores the impact of human activity on the avian environment. From the Great Blue Heron to the Eastern Bluebird, to the rare Hawaiian Honeycreeper, and America's symbol, the majestic Bald Eagle, a selection of twelve North American birds is presented, with specific information contained in insets further describing each bird and its particular survival issues. At the end, young readers are offered examples of what they can do to help in their own neighborhoods, schools and communities so that "birds can live and grow." Also included are easy-to-interpret color maps defining each bird's habitat and range. Children and adults alike will thrill to this informative and visually stunning book.