Birds and Feathers by Britta Teckentrup

Feathers are among the most remarkable things ever made by nature. They are delicate, complex, extravagant, beautiful and strong - all at the same time. All birds have feathers which make them unique in the animal kingdom.

There are forty double spreads in this very special book covering everything you need to know, or have been curious to discover, about feathers such as types, colours, sizes, flapping, gliding and hovering, feathers for protection and human use of feathers. 

Source Twitter https://twitter.com/bteckentrup/status/976947051119480835

You can see inside this book here. Did you know there is a feather on the moon?  It is a falcon feather. Here are a few things I discovered:

• Owl feathers form large discs around their eyes and these help channel sounds into their ears - hence owls have brilliant hearing and can locate prey.
• Arctic birds such as the ptarmigan have feet feather which work just like snowshoes.
• Birds that live in cold climates have fifty percent more feathers in winter. The tundra swan can have up to 25,000 feathers and penguins have the most feathers - about 100 per square inch.

Many of our classes spend time on the topic of Animals but oddly, until recently, the teachers did not specifically include birds into their planning. A few years ago I convinced one grade to look at all the amazing bird books in our school library and I was thrilled when they totally embraced the idea of spending a few weeks exploring everything about birds including their feathers.  Now we have this brilliant book - Birds and Feathers by the very talented illustrator Britta Teckentrup.

If you want to focus on specific aspects of birds take a look at The Best Beak in Boonaroo Bay by Narelle Oliver (Beaks), Circle by Jeannie Baker (Bird Migration), Fox and Fine Feathers by Narelle Oliver (Camouflage) and Mama built a little Nest (Nest building). My friend at Kinderbookboard has a terrific collection of other titles for young students.

In this quietly introspective volume featuring evocative, earth-toned prints, German author-illustrator Teckentrup explores bird life, behavior, and anatomy through the topic of feathers. Pubishers Weekly

An exquisite information rich, visually sumptuous collection of carefully curated snippets of information about everything relating to feathers. The Book Sniffer

An exquisitely rendered fusion of art and science, this marvelous book satisfies young readers' natural curiosity about the world around them. Chat with Vera


Long ago I read A nest for Celeste.  The work of Audubon fascinates me and I hope to spend time exploring the hundreds of images on the Audubon web site.  Birds are such wonders of nature. Do you have a favourite bird?  I love puffins, loons, budgerigars and our Australian kookaburra.

Image source: https://tinyurl.com/y9fpllq6

I absolutely loved Birds and their Feathers and in my view this book should be a "must purchase" for every school library. Considering the beautiful art work, wonderful end papers and wealth of information this is not an expensive book at AUS$25.  I now need to read the companion volume The Egg.