Is this Panama? by Jan Thornhill illustrated by Soyeon Kim

Sammy, the young Wilson's warbler, knows it is time to make his first migration to Panama. The problem is he does not know the way and the other birds seem to have already left. In the style of "Are you my mother" Sammy asks everyone he meets if they can help him. He talks with a ptarmigan;a caribou; a flock of sandhill cranes; a garter snake; some green darner dragonflies; and luckily some other warblers.  Did you know there are many kinds of warblers. They are all shown on the end papers. You will see the Black-Throated Warbler; the Bay-Breasted Warbler; the Hooded Warbler; the Magnolia Warbler; and our hero the Wilson's Warbler.

Sammy finds the other warblers but he is only half way to Panama. His new friends explain the way they follow the stars at night but in cities lights on buildings can be a dangerous hazard. Sammy crashes but after a rest he carries on with his journey but once again he is alone. Luckily he meets some beautiful Monarch butterflies.  Next he meets a godwit.  This is the bird which features in Circle by Jeannie Baker. The godwits fly fast and do not take beaks. Sammy falls from the sky on to a migrating humpback whale. He is able to finally hitch a ride to Mexico and eventually he makes it all the way to Panama.

This book is a combination of narrative and science non fiction. I have mentioned Canadian illustrator Soyeon Kim in a previous post. It is clear she has done extensive research to create the scrumptious illustrations in this very special book.On the final pages Jan Thornhill gives readers extra information about each of the animals found in her book along with a map facts about the ways animals migrate. Take a look at this review in Quill and Quire. Read this post about Narrative Non Fiction by Melissa Stewart.

In a previous post I talked about The Sea Swallow and the Humpback Whale and Wild is the Wind. I picked these up in my favourite school library and the timing was perfect. A colleague in a local school asked me for text ideas to pair with Circle by Jeannie Baker.

You may already have these books about bird migration - now here is another to add to your library shelves. The exquisitely illustrated - Is this Panama? A paperback version is now available (ISBN 9781771474474 ).

As I finish off this post I will mention one of my all time favourite books which by chance also mentions Panama.  I know I use the phrase "one of my all time favourite books" quite often but after 35 years of reading children's books I have certainly gathered some wonderful treasures. The Trip to Panama by Janosch is not a migration story but it does involve a journey.  You could use this book as part of a mapping unit with young children. Both mapping the journey in the story and finding Panama on the world map.