The Big Book of Birds by Yuval Zommer

Publisher blurb: Why is a flamingo pink? Can a parrot talk? Is a bald eagle really bald? This follow-up to the hugely successful The Big Book of Bugs, The Big Book of Beasts and The Big Book of the Blue answers these questions and many more. It opens with introductory spreads explaining how to recognize different bird’s eggs, the bird family tree, why different species of birds have different beaks and feathers, and why some birds migrate and travel vast distances every year. Subsequent spreads, illustrated with various habitats, are dedicated to specific varieties of bird, including hummingbirds, peacocks, flamingos, bald eagles, secretary birds, albatrosses and red-crowned cranes. Some will teach children how to spot different birds within a specific variety, for example how to differentiate the American robin from the European robin. Others explore bird habitats, for example showing how birds adapt to live in cities. Finally, the book invites young bird spotters to protect birds where they live and make their gardens bird friendly. This is a big, beautiful book to look at again and again.

Social Media can be useful, distracting and of course it can show you the things you have missed out on. I recently saw that Yuval Zommer has been in Australia and more specifically here in Sydney at an event with Thames and Hudson, his publisher, and even more amazing our own Zeno Sworder was also a speaker/guest at this event. Zeno has a new book due out later this year.  I wonder how people knew to attend? I seem to follow so many authors and publishers on all the Social Media platforms but I did not see this event mentioned until various people shared photos of the event. I will admit I am very jealous of the people who attended.

At a recent charity book sale I spied The Big Book of Birds by Yuval Zommer. This is indeed a 'big' book and this copy is in mint condition so I will gift it to a friend. It only cost AUS$4 and as a bonus on the day I picked it up, the books at the fair were half price. The normal retail price for this book is AUS$30 so I did snaffle a bargain. The Big Book of Birds was published in 2020.

There are tiny details in the design of this book that will delight a young reader. The end papers show birds flying in towards the pages and at the back they are flying away. There is an egg hunt on every page and to read some of the pages you need to turn the book sideways. As with all excellent nonfiction books, this one has a detailed contents list and an index.

The birds in this book are from around the world. I especially love the double spreads about puffins, flamingos, Secretary birds, robins, Great Grey owls and hummingbirds. 

There is just enough information on each page to spark curiosity in your young reading companion aged 6+. I have talked about so many bird books on this blog - just click the word birds in my post label. Kirkus say this book is insubstantial but I think it is a great introduction to a wide range of birds and the illustrations are simply delightful. If a young reader spies a bird that catches their attention there are sure to be plenty of other books that give will give them more details. 

Here are some other splendid books by Yuval Zommer. Notice all the titles have a word starting with the letter 'B'. I think all of these should be added to your school library collection:

Let's Talk Picture books explore his Big Book of Blooms. I am now very keen to see another book from this series - The Big Book of Belonging. You can follow Yuval Zommer on Instagram. His new book due to arrive here in Australia in September is one I really do need to own - it is called Our Islands. I have travelled to lots of special islands - Fair Isle; Mull; Skye; Shetland; Isle de Magdalen (Canada); Nantucket; Martha's Vineyard; Orkney; Jersey; Hern; Sark; and Gurnsey. I am not sure that any of these are included in this book so that means it will give a new list of islands I need to explore. 

This Bird: Noticing our urban birds by Astred Hicks and Dr Holly Parsons

"This book is for curious people who like to look around them and find out more. Bird noticing is a lovely way to connect with nature and the world around us."

In the introduction to this book you might recognise the names three birds you have seen in other books - the bar-tailed godwit (Jeannie Baker Circle); the satin bowerbird (Bowerbird Blues and sequels by Aura Parker) and the powerful owl (Apollo the Powerful Owl by Gordon Winch).

Almost one hundred Australian birds are explored in this book with twenty-six explored in detail. Here are some of the page headings which are sure to make you curious:

• This bird looks different from its partner
• This bird plays hide and seek
• This bird flies marathons
• This bird is a moonlight wailer
• This bird walks on water
• This bird is cheeky
• This bird is a swimmer
• This bird is a hoverer
• This bird is 'shellfish'
• This bird is gregarious
• This bird has a red butt
• This bird eats with a spoon
• This bird is more than an angler
• This bird is an artist
• This bird is a liar
• This bird is a master of disguise
• This bird has a sweet tooth
• This bird is a cruncher

On the back end paper you could play a game with your young reading companion of name that bird. I also like the way there are small symbols on each page that you use to identify the type of bird such as grassland bird, seabird, wader or raptor. Did you know the name for a bird who eats fish is a piscivore and one that eats seeds is a granivore? As with all good nonfiction this book also has a detailed index and glossary. In a classroom it would be interesting to focus on one double page each week and use the information as a jumping off point to discover even more about each urban bird and you could do a search for an audio file to hear the call of your focus bird. Perhaps your students could also do some birdwatching in their local area and you could make a class book of your discoveries. Have you discovered the ABC Radio National Tweet of the Week where listeners identify birds from their calls - it is such a fun little treat each week. 

There are teachers notes available on the publisher webpage. If you purchase a library standing order this book is sure to be included. I also expect to see this book listed as a 2026 CBCA Eve Pownall notable title. 

Our Australian birds do have very special features but I also love some of their names: bellbird, gang-gang cookatoo, noisy friarbird, grey goshawke, mistletoebird, pied oystercatcher, royal spoonbill, and of course the willie wagtail. Another bird that I find so curious is the Tawny Frogmouth. Take a look at this photo of a spotted pardalote - then you could compare the photo with the excellent illustration by Astred Hicks and with this one from Bridget Farmer:

The Bush Birds - Spotted Pardalote

After reading this book I hope one day to see a comb-crested jacana; a purple swamphen; and a red-rumped parrot!

Huge thanks to CSIRO Publishing for my advance copy of This Bird. It will be published on 1st August 2025 but I suggest you pop this on your shopping list or library wish list now. 

Gleebooks Kids

There are some fantastic books available for our children about birds but they are not always about our unique Australian birds. I lived in Canada (my favourite bird there was the loon) some years ago and one of the things that surprised me was the way I missed the familiar sounds of our birds. Where I live now there is a colony of kookaburras and their laugh makes me smile every time I hear them nearby or have the thrill of seeing one on my balcony. When I walk in a bush area close by, I often hear the eastern whip bird calling to their partner. Out of interest I 'Googled' birds around the lagoon near my home and I found this astonishing list. Here is one of my own local favourites:

Masked Lapwing Image source: Birds of Australia

I like this photo because it shows two of these birds 

and when I see them near the lagoon they are always together as a pair. 

And I read that when you see two like this it is usually a male and a female.

They are sometimes called a Spur-wing Plover

You can hear their distinct call here.

Companion books to read alongside This Bird:

The Bush Birds and look for the second in this series The Beach Birds

The art in these two books is truly special.

Australian Backyard Birdies is so funny and yet it also contains scientific information

Your art lesson could involve painting or creating pictures of our Australian native birds. If you have any of the books I have mentioned in this post you could compare the illustration styles. 

In 2015 I joined a bird watching tour of Shetland and Fair Isle. I am not a bird watcher but the enthusiasm and deep knowledge of our two guides was inspirational and that shines through with the author of this book Dr Holly Parsons. Watch this 2015 video from Gardening Australia where Holly talks about birds in our gardens. You can find Astred Hicks on Instagram.

We are so lucky to have a publisher like CSIRO Publishing. They source experts in their field and pair them with hugely talented authors and illustrators. Every school and public library should have a collection of their titles. Take a look at this post from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. Here are a few I have read in recent years:

On the trail of the Plains Wanderer

The Forgotten Song

Our World full of Wonder

Where are all the Christmas Beetles?

Secrets of the Saltmarsh

The Girl with Wings by Jaco Jacobs illustrated by Tori Stowe translated by Kobus Geldenhuys

Wilson Taylor lives with her mum and step dad in a caravan. They never stay in one place for very long. In each small town her mum sets up a tennis camp for local kids because she is a former tennis champion. Gabriel, her step dad, is a freelance photographer. He takes photos of things around each town and then sells them as digital images for people to download. All of this means Wilson spends a lot of time on her own. Right now it is the summer holidays but in term time she is homeschooled. 

In this town Wilson meets a local boy named Errol. He tells her likes to go bird watching but we discover this is not entirely true. There are rumours of a girl who has been seen in Leseeba - a girl who has wings. Perhaps the title and cover of the book have alerted you to this plot point.

So who is this girl? We discover her name is Ava. How can it be that she has wings? Can she fly? Where does she live? And who is this man who is hunting for her? And how is all of this connected with the circus?

Now that Wilson and Errol have met Ava what will happen if her secret is revealed. Oh and you need to remember I mentioned Gabriel is a photographer. Surely a photograph of Ava will be especially dangerous.

Having now read it, I can tell you that it is quirky, fun and one of those books that while suitable for sharing in lower KS2, will also have enormous appeal in Years 5 and 6. Highly original, often surreal and, at less than 200 pages, quite a short read, this is book that is gentle and sweet and one that is filled with mystery and friendship as we meet the titular girl with wings and uncover her story. Mrs Sydney

Companion books:

Yesterday Crumb and the storm in a teacup

The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen

The Girl who walked on Air

The Girl who could Fly (US Cover)

Long Road to the Circus

I saw The Girl with Wings in a local bookstore last week and I immediately recognised the South African author Jaco Jacobs. I previously really enjoyed these two books:

A Good day for Climbing Trees

A Good Night for Shooting Zombies

Twitch by MG Leonard

 

"He'd woken up feeling like he had a jigsaw puzzle in his head that wouldn't let him do anything else until he had fitted all the pieces together. Who was Billy? ... Why had Billy told him he was a birdwatcher, when he didn't know the difference between a swift and a sparrow? Why was everyone lying to him? It seemed to be a puzzle hinging on birds. He wondered, was it anything to do with the jailbird who was hiding in Briddvale?"

Who are the baddies? Who can you trust? Is there anyone who is telling the truth?

A notorious bank robber has come to Aves Wood. The robber is purported to be looking for five million pounds which have been hidden in this huge natural area. Twitch (real name Corvus Featherstone) loves to roam around in Aves Wood. The dreadful bullying he experiences at school and his loneliness since the death of his grandfather mean he feels most at home in the little hide he has made in the wood. From his hide he can watch the birds he loves. At home, his love of birds continues with four pigeons; three chickens and a family of swifts. The holidays have begun and Twitch has plans to train his two younger pigeons to fly home but now the woods are swarming with police and Twitch also has to be extra careful to avoid the bullies from school and keep his own special hideout a secret. 

Jack and his gang attack Twitch on the last day of school forcing a worm into his mouth. Luckily a stranger intervenes. Briddvale is a small place. Twitch has never seen this man before but Billy explains he has come to area to look at the birds. Twitch is delighted to find a fellow bird enthusiast but should he share so much information with a stranger. Then there is Jack who somehow tries to convince Twitch that he is not a bully, that he is also interested in birds and that he just wants to be a friend. Again should Twitch trust his former enemy and has he told Jack too much? And who are the two young girls he keeps seeing roaming around Aves Wood? 

This is just one of those really, really good books that is very readable, with a great story and characters you're interested in and care about. It's written perfectly, with a good pace to the plot, and a lovely warmth to it throughout.  The Book Bag

I read this book in almost one sitting. YES it is that good. I adored previous books by MG Leonard - Beetle Boy and Beetle Queen. 

In Twitch the action just races along and I loved the way MG Leonard gives tiny hints, some of which are very misleading, about who to trust and exactly what is going on. The character of Twitch reminded me of Carl Hiaasen books such as Hoot; Scat; and Flush. 

If you are looking for another book with a central character who loves birds you should also look for The Someday Birds.

Have you heard the Nesting Bird? by Rita Gray illustrated by Kenard Pak

 

This book reads like a poem or a song with the repeated refrain:

"But have you heard the nesting bird?"

This is not a new book (published 2014) but I do love the art of Kenard Pak so I wanted to share this lyrical and beautifully illustrated book with you. Good news the paperback edition of this book is available and it is a good price. 

At the back of the book there is an interview the the robin. Here are some sample questions:

• Why are you so quiet in your nest?
• Where is the father bird?
• Do you have a song?

In this book you will discover many birds and most will be unfamiliar to Australian children but that is why you should read this book because it contains birds you will meet one day in other books and perhaps one day even in real life. I'd love to see a chickadee or a whip-poor-will.

Here are the birds in this book - dove; woodpecker; starling; sparrow; swallow; crow; cardinal; chickadee; catbird; blue jay; whip-poor-will; wood thrush. Here are the doves.

The robin stays quiet through the incubation of her eggs so other predators will not find her babies. Robins do sing at other times:

cheerily, cheer up! my tree makes syrup! syrup so sweet!

I have made the discovery that we do have robins in Australia but they are not related to the robins in this book.  There are also American robins and European robins.

Listen to an American robin.

Image Source Audubon

As welcome as the robin in springtime. Kirkus Star review

Here is a video of Have you heard the Nesting Bird? If you want another book to explore bird sounds try to find this older book by Pat Hutchins:

Here are other books illustrated by Kenard Pak.

Here is the European robin:

Image Source iNaturalist

The Keeper of Wild Words by Brooke Smith illustrated by Madeline Kloepper

Words disappear if we don't share them when we talk.

If we don't write them in our stories.

If we don't read them in our books.

If we don't use words, they can be forgotten.

And if they're forgotten ... they disappear.

Take a look at these images:

If you read a picture book about a otter then, especially if you are an Australian child, you will discover a new animal. If someone shares the brilliant Margaret Mahy book The Pumpkin Man and the crafty creeper with a child they might talk about ivy as an example of a plant that creeps. Perhaps you have willow pattern china - of course you would want to share the famous story of the willow pattern.  Otter, Willow and Ivy are just three of the words that the Oxford Junior Dictionary decided to delete a few years ago.  Here are some others:

acorn, adder, ash, beech, bluebell, buttercup, catkin, conker, cowslip, cygnet, dandelion, fern, hazel, heather, heron, ivy, kingfisher, lark, mistletoe, nectar, newt, otter, and willow. Source Listen and Learn

These deletions, Brooke Smith explains, made her feel  "disillusioned and ultimately very sad." Especially when compared with the replacement words: chatroom, voicemail, conflict, database and vandalism.

When we read a book, especially as a child, we often find new words. If you find an unfamiliar word I'm not sure I would think to grab a dictionary - perhaps a child will ask an adult or a friend, or they will 'skip' the word. Do writers use dictionaries to find inspiring words? Probably not. BUT somehow it seems wrong to remove words from a dictionary. Oxford said these words were removed because they were not in current use. These were mainly words that give names to things in nature. They argue that urban children don't use these words. Certainly an Australian child is unlikely to encounter an otter, a lark or a conker in real life but then again an Australian child is lucky because he or she can read books in English and discover these animals and plants in stories. I have fond memories of a childhood book that contained a conker. I had no idea about this but from the text (and perhaps an illustration) I could make some sense that it was a tree nut and that it was very tough and good to use for a 'smashing' game. As you can see the controversy around deleting words from a junior dictionary raises so many questions and viewpoints.  Here is what Oxford University Press said about their decision.

In this story young Brooke visits her grandmother Mimi. Mimi is a writer. She invites Brooke to come outside and help with her task as Keeper - The Keeper of Wild Words. The pair explore the countryside with a plan to find 19 words which Mimi has on her list such as doe, drake, poppy, porcupine, willow and wren.

On each page they make a new discovery. They taste blackberries, smell mint, blow a dandelion, and watch a flock of starlings high in the sky. 

By the end of the day they have found every word on the list but Mimi has one more surprise.  Remember there were 19 words on the list.

"You know my favourite wild word is not on the list ... It's standing right in front of me."  It is a BROOK.  "You were named after this tiny stream that your mother always cherished."

At the back of the book there is an envelope which you can use to keep your own 'wild words". My copy of this book came from a wonderful school library but I am quite tempted to put a few words into the envelope for the next young reader to discover.

Brooke Smith says: "Nature has always been a crucial part of my life, and my daughter Mimi’s, too. We were fortunate enough to raise her on our property in Bend, Oregon with many of these wild words naturally present. I wanted to write a book that would allow children everywhere to experience the beauty of nature and feel what it’s like to wander and explore." Nerdy Book Club

The expedition is described in vivid language, organized as free verse in single sentences or short paragraphs. Key words are printed in color in a larger display type and capital letters. Sensory details allow the protagonist to hear, see, smell, taste, and hold the wild. Kirkus

By coincidence here The Keeper of Wild Words another book which celebrates Grandmothers and it is one where we see them as young and vibrant. I talked about this in My Forever Dress earlier today.

The Keeper of Wild Words comes from the US with a Canadian illustrator Madeline Kloepper. In the UK another book inspired by the removal of words from the dictionary is the award winning The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane illustrated by Jackie Morris. The Lost Words won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2019 and the Beautiful Book Award in 2017.

I would pair The Keeper of Wild words with these books:

Daniel finds a poem

I am the seed that grew the tree

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Applet

As the title suggests the setting for this story is a swamp in the east Texas bayou.  Sugar Man swamp is home to a number of animals but of importance in this story are two raccoons, a rare bird that mayb even be extinct, some alligators, dangerous rattle snakes and the Sugar Man himself. He is a bit like a yeti or a Sasquatch. Growing in the swamp are various wonderful tall trees and some very special sugarcane. From this cane you can make muscovado sugar.  Paradise Pies Cafe use this sugar to make delicious fried pies - fresh baked each morning.  Also waiting to be found in this swamp is an old car.  It is a 1949 Sportsman DeSoto

The true blue scouts of the title are two racoons named Bingo and J'miah. The live in the old car and when lightning strikes, the radio in the car springs to life with words of wisdom, warnings and a weather update. Right now, though, the most dangerous thing in the swamp as far as Bingo and J'miah are concerned is a large group of hungry wild hogs who are heading straight for the sugarcane. Our scouts need to warn the Sugar Man but how do you do this when he is asleep and likely to be real angry if woken too soon.

For the humans who live near the swamp there is another danger:

• Who is the enemy? Sony Boy Beaucoup who wants to drain the swamp.
• Who is the hero? It is Chap (full name Chaparral) who plans to save a boat load of money to pay off this vile man. It is Chap who plans to find that missing car, and the missing rare bird (Ivory-Billed woodpecker) and hopefully prove the Sugar Man is not a myth. But maybe this last part might not be such a good idea?

I adored, I am going to say that word again - adored reading this book.  I had read The Underneath by Kathi Appelt so I was very keen to experience another of her books. Oddly it has taken me almost a year to do this.

Can you imagine in taking 2 or 3 or 4 or even 5 story lines and tossing them all up in the air. I am sure you are visualising this as a huge tangle. NO Kathi Appelt does this with the ease of a consummate circus performer. Some how she blends all these story threads and gives her reader an utterly splendid story set in the swamps of Texas.

I knew from the beginning, from the very first chapter, I was going to enjoy this story. I read the whole book in one go while sitting on a train travelling to southern NSW. I think Kathi had me hooked with words and phrases such as:

nosiree
falderal
'Houston we've got a problem'
'It was glory hallelujah, get out the biscuits, my-oh-my-oh-my.'
'He was clearly up the tree without a parachute.'
'Those pies kicked their stripy booties.'

This book gives you such a strong sense of place and the people and it is so funny yet poignant too. Here is a description of Sonny Boy Beaucoup the man who plans to sell the swamp and turn it into a Alligator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park.

"... the man was all decked out in a fancy blue and white seersucker suit with a red bow tie. He wore white wing tip shoes, with the thinnest socks Chap had ever seen. The socks were so thin, Chap could see the light-colored hairs of the man's legs through the sheer knit. How would they ever protect his ankles from the biting fleas that lived in the swamp?"

If you read this book with a group (and I'd suggest this would be a terrific thing to do) here are a set of Book Discussion questions from the publisher. You can listen to an audio sample of the first chapter here.

In a honeyed dialect, the omnipresent narrator directly engages readers, ricocheting between the hilarious human and critter dramas to a riotous finale.  A rollicking, ripping tall tale with ecological subtext. Kirkus Star review

As I sunk into the marshy land of the swamp, it was Appelt’svoice, that honeyed drawl, that I heard as if she were sitting beside me whispering into my ear, “All will be well, sister.”  And indeed, it was. Nerdy Book Club

There’s rollicking humor and wild adventure and zesty danger here, as well as a thread of poignancy to anchor us. There’s a marvelously complex web of folks and their enterprises, all unknowingly barreling towards one grand mash-up. And there’s a swamp to save, with its rich habitat hanging in the balance. All of this is told in a delightful, folksy, storyteller’s voice, with short (at times very, very short!) chapters that pop in on one scene, then switch to another locale, keeping us turning those pages to find out more. Orange Marmalade Books

Nest by Esther Ehrlich

The New York Times said this about Nest:

This is a book to take seriously, that has a lot to say. But is it for the child readers it’s targeting?

The greatest strength of “Nest” is Chirp’s clear, strong, believable voice. First-person present tense brings us close to her from the outset, and Ehrlich never hits a false note with this endearing, vulnerable, utterly authentic little girl.

I picked up Nest in a Melbourne book shop last week. Why? I vaguely remembered reading a review, as usual I liked the cover and the review quotes and author endorsements inside the cover sealed the deal. While I am happy I read Nest it is not a book I would place in a Primary school library. It is too sad and too confronting. But it is also powerful, raw and beautifully expressed.

"While it's still just the two of us, just us and no one else, we turn off the downstairs lights. We flick the porch lights on and sit together in the living room on the gold velour couch in the almost-dark and cricket-quiet."

"There's too much I don't know. I don't know why Mom can't just get better at home if we give her lots of peace and quiet and take turns dancing for her and cooking her chicken soup and mashed potatoes and, every once in a while, bringing her an ice cream sundae with hot fudge from Benson's. I don't know when we'll get to visit Mom in the nuthouse."

I completely agree with Ms Yingling who says "I strongly suggest reading this personally before putting it into a school library."  Just as Karen Yingling says, I also found many aspects of this book touched too closely with aspects of my own childhood. I agree this is a book adult readers may enjoy more than younger students - I would give this book to a sensitive reader in Grade 8 or higher which is quite a different audience to the one suggested by the star review from Kirkus.

Here is a review with all the plot details.

I would follow Nest with Scarlet Ibis, Bird by Crystal Chan and The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson. 


Nest is an honest and raw account about a family’s love, a family’s tragedy, and a family’s healing. And though Nest is narrated in eleven-year-old Chirp’s point of view, the gravity of this family’s experiences would be best suited for readers at the higher end of the recommended age spectrum. The Children's Book Review