John Audubon and the World of Birds for Kids: His Life and Works, with 21 Activities

by Michael Elsohn Ross

Overview

John James Audubon's passion for birds inspired a national movement to protect birds and their habitats.

As a child, John would often skip school to roam the countryside. He collected bird nests, unique stones, bits of moss, and other items of interest and developed his talent for creating dramatic bird portraits and skills for observing them in the wild.

Using his abilities as an acute observer, skilled writer, and exceptional artist, Audubon wrote and illustrated a book, Birds of America. Cataloging all these creatures took enormous time and effort—but even more difficult was finding a way to publish it. To make his book a reality he had to persuade wealthy investors to support his dream. The stories of his adventures pursuing the unique birds of the America captured the imagination of audiences.

Audubon became a larger-than-life figure and dubbed himself "the American Woodsman." Years after his death his artwork is still considered a major accomplishment that inspired a greater interest in American birdlife.

John Audubon and the World of Birds for Kids includes 21 hands-on activities and valuable resources for budding ornithologists hiking in his footsteps.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641606219
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/27/2022
Series:	Chicago Review Press For Kids Series , #76
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
Lexile:	1150L (what's this?)
File size:	10 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Michael Elsohn Ross is an award-winning author of over 40 books for children, including Salvador Dali and the Surrealists, She Takes a Stand, Plantology, and A World of Her Own. He lives and works in Yosemite National Park.

Table of Contents

Time Line
Introduction
1. A Revolutionary Childhood
Listen to Birds
Bird Watching Journal
Draw a Bird
2. New World, New Life
Hunting with Your Eyes
Observe Bird Banding
3. Abundance
Bird Zippers
Building a Bird Nest
Eggamination
Bird Beaks
4. Losses and Successes
Keep Track of Neighborhood Birds Through the Year
Mama and Papa Pairs
False Alert
5. Taking a Leap
Field Trip to a Different Ecosystem
Composition Center of Gravity
The Real Poop
6. The Busy Backwoods Artist
How to Identify a Bird
Using a Bird Field Guide
7. New Work, New Honors, and Problems
Visit eBird
Song Describer
8. Back to Bachman, and England
Jay Identification
9. The End in Sight
Join a Bird Walk
Afterword
Resources and Websites
Notes
Index
 

Editorial Reviews

"A detailed portrait of the great ornithologist, with select examples of his dramatic avian images." — Kirkus Reviews

“This remarkable book unlocks the mysteries behind John Audubon’s fascinating life and his enduringly beautiful bird illustrations. Not just for kids, the book’s activities engage anyone wanting to deepen their understanding and love for birds." —Sarah Stock, professional ornithologist, Sierra Nevada

“An informative biography of Audubon, particularly recommended for bird lovers.”—Booklist

From the Publisher

2022-05-11
A detailed portrait of the great ornithologist, with select examples of his dramatic avian images.

The activities promised on the title page are definitely a weak link, as they run to perfunctory projects like conducting an “eggamination” by breaking an egg, looking at its contents, and then eating them—but otherwise Ross runs through the major, and many minor, events in Audubon’s well-documented life to trace his development as an artist and his character as an “active, adaptable, and showy” impresario for his renowned but fantastically costly magnum opus. If the author’s efforts to acknowledge that, yes, Audubon shot his models and, yes, he was a slaveholding “evildoer” sometimes come off as clumsy, still, he’s careful to give the painter’s wife, Lucy, and collaborators like George Lehman and Maria Martin fulsome credit for their substantial contributions to his life’s work. And, though the man himself appears only once, the illustrations offer not only dozens of birds in magnificent, sharply reproduced glory, but helpful juxtapositions, too, such as a painting of a golden eagle placed with both its subtly altered print version and the portrait of Napoleon that was said to have inspired it. Along with notes on the deplorable effects of rampant 19th-century egg and plume harvesting on bird populations, the narrative finishes off with a nod to Black American ornithologist J. Drew Lanham’s recent examination of Audubon’s racist views and practices.

Thorough and perceptive, even if the efforts to add nuance are laid on with a trowel. (timeline, sites to visit and organizations, endnotes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 12-15)

Kirkus Reviews