A Garden to Save the Birds

by Wendy McClure, Beatriz Mayumi (Illustrator)

Overview

ALA Top 10 Sustainability-themed Children's Books 2022

A brother and sister learn that small changes can make a big difference.

When a bird flies into their window by accident, Callum and his sister, Emmy, learn that from the outside, the glass looks just like the sky. They also learn that the United States has lost a lot of birds in recent years—and that there are lots of things their family can do to help. First, they set out feeders and make the windows safe. Then, for the winter, they build a little shelter and put out a heated birdbath. By springtime, all kinds of birds are visiting their yard! But with such a big problem, is there more they can do to make a difference?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807527535
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	04/01/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	856,395
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	AD570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Wendy McClure is an author and a children's book editor. Her work includes the picture book It's a Pumpkin! and the Wanderville middle grade series. She was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and now lives in Chicago with her husband, Chris, in a neighborhood near the river.

Beatriz Mayumi is an illustrator and freelance designer living in Brazil.

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2021

Narrated by Callum, a bespectacled child with warm brown skin and wavy hair, this inspiring picture book relays how a bird’s accidental collision into a window galvanizes a family to learn about helping birds. Through strategic gardening, bird feeder positioning, and nighttime light reduction, the family transforms their home; their activism then begets outreach as they persuade their neighborhood to become a wildlife habitat. Featuring a rich color palette and detailed fowl, Mayumi’s modern, animation-style art will appeal in her picture book debut. McClure’s informative, sequential model, which presents a problem the birds face and a solution the children reach, will resonate with young bird enthusiasts and burgeoning environmentalists, as will the compassionate community care message (“We’re growing back the world too./ A little bit, at least./ Still, there’s more we can do”). Back matter includes facts about the birds, actions that readers can take to help, and online resources. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

ALA Top 10 Sustainability-themed Children's Books 2022

"A welcome can-do story about environmental activism."—Kirkus Reviews

"Lots of potential for classroom use and project inspiration."—Booklist

From the Publisher

2021-01-27
When Emmy and Callum hear a bird hit their window, they are worried that it might be hurt.

The bird flies away unscathed, but it gets Emmy and Callum thinking about what other parts of their home might be dangerous for birds—and what they can do to make it less so. With the help of their mother, they begin by putting decals on their windows, filling the bird feeder, and letting flowers go to seed. As the year progresses, they learn more about what birds need at different times of the year. In the fall, when birds migrate, Emmy and Callum turn off the disorienting porch lights and fill their jack-o’-lantern with healthy birdseed. In the winter, when snow falls, they build a shelter of sticks. Soon Emmy and Callum decide they want to do more, eventually involving the whole neighborhood in transforming the area into a certified wildlife habitat. As narrated by Callum, this book is an engaging guide to environmental activism. Emmy and Callum’s gradual shift from individual actions to community organizing feels organic and doable: Readers can accomplish almost all of the activities they model. (More information is provided in the backmatter, along with resources.) At times the prose gets clunky, but generally the text is clear and fun to read aloud. The gentle, pastel-hued illustrations feature a brown-skinned family and neatly complement the earnest and gentle text.

A welcome can-do story about environmental activism. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews