Billy Loves Birds

by Jess French, Duncan Beedie (Illustrator)

Overview

Billy Loves Birds tells the fact-filled story of a day in the life of Billy, a budding young naturalist who is wild about birds of all kinds!
 
Billy encounters many different kinds of birds in his adventures during his day at Forest School, and this book is filled with facts about all the different species he comes across, and some that he can only dream of seeing in the wild one day.
 
He studies a blue tits’ nest with chicks about to fledge, spies a kingfisher catching a worm, and shows his friend how to peck like a woodpecker!
 
Follow Billy as he shares his love of birds—discover how to trumpet like a crane or laugh like a kookaburra and learn what makes feathers fabulous or beaks extraordinary. 
 
With an engaging and lively narrative from Jess French and fun, warm illustrations from Duncan Beedie, this book will help ignite a love and appreciation for nature, right on our doorsteps.

The Nature Heroes series focuses on a group of friends who are passionate about nature and the great outdoors. Each book features a different child who has a favorite topic that they are fascinated by: Billy Loves Birds, Bella Loves Bugs, Ava Loves Animals, and Pedro Loves the Planet!
 
Playful text and funny relatable illustrations make this an accessible series, which provides an entertaining introduction to the natural world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780711265578
Publisher:	Happy Yak
Publication date:	04/19/2022
Series:	Nature Heroes
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jess French is a passionate vet, zoologist and naturalist who has been named one of Britain's top 50 conservationists by BBC Wildlife magazine. She presented her own TV series on CBeebies called Minibeast Adventure with Jess and worked on Live 'n' Deadly (CBBC), Deadly Mission Madagascar (CBBC), Springwatch (BBC) and Micro Monsters 3D (Sky). Jess has written several books for children, including the Born Free series for Orion Children's Books.

Duncan Beedie is an illustrator and animator based in Bristol. Aside from drawing copious quirky images, he collects clockwork robots, can identify pretty much any military aircraft and has a dog called Ivor.

Jess French is a passionate vet, zoologist and naturalist who has been named one of Britain's top 50 conservationists by BBC Wildlife magazine. She presented her own TV series on CBeebies called Minibeast Adventure with Jess and worked on Live 'n' Deadly (CBBC), Deadly Mission Madagascar (CBBC), Springwatch (BBC) and Micro Monsters 3D (Sky). Jess has written several books for children, including the Born Free series for Orion Children's Books.
Duncan Beedie is an illustrator and animator based in Bristol. Aside from drawing copious quirky images, he collects clockwork robots, can identify pretty much any military aircraft and has a dog called Ivor.

Editorial Reviews

“First in the Nature Heroes series of bright, engaging adventures bursting with nature and details, created by TV expert and vet French with popular illustrator Beedie. Also this month comes Bella Loves Bugs.”—The Bookseller

'Fact-filled, adventure-filled and bursting with the most delightful, relatable illustrations.’—Armadillo Magazine

From the Publisher

2022-03-30
A child spends the day outside observing nesting, fledging, and feeding birds.

Billy is an avid bird-watcher and shows readers some tricks, including attracting birds with various feeders to closely observe them, watching nest cameras on the internet, using binoculars to get a closer view, and visiting nest boxes. Pages from Billy’s sketchbook show readers various nests and beaks, and Billy uses books as references when looking for information. Billy’s friends each have their own interests (Bella—bugs, Ava—animals, Pedro—the environment), but they share their friend’s enthusiasm and are good listeners, and all demonstrate solid science skills, constantly wondering and asking questions about what they observe and keeping safety tips in mind. Billy’s enthusiasm is contagious, and this book will be a good starting point for bird-watching beginners, though they may need other resources to fill gaps. For instance, only a few of the species pictured are identified; Billy provides facts about beaks, but these do not consistently link shape and diet. There are also some missing or incorrect facts: The book describes owl pellets but doesn’t explain how they are expelled, and there’s contradictory information regarding when fledged chicks have to fend for themselves. The bright cartoon illustrations use full-page, two-page, spot, and boxed illustrations; Billy’s drawings appear childlike, and excerpts from reference books are more sophisticated. Billy is brown-skinned, his friends are racially diverse, and Pedro uses hearing aids. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A solid springboard for budding birders. (how to be a nature hero: birds) (Informational picture book. 4-10)

Kirkus Reviews