Birds Books

This book is great IF you are looking for an in depth knowledge on adjusting to and noticing parrot behavior.

Excellent! a must have for anyone. Lots of valuable information.Recomend for people with some knowledge of keeping parrots.

I am an avid reader of anything parrot and this book has useful information that explains parrot behavior as well as health issues.
Add this to your bird library..it is a great reference!

Any veterinary library or holding specializing in pets - even at the public library level - will want to have Manual of Parrot Behavior in the collection: it's the first detailed reference of its kind to provide a survey by international experts on parrot behavior under one cover. Here are keys to both normal and abnormal parrot behavior, techniques on treating common problems, and checklists of tameness and other scores. Invaluable.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

In this book, Rose Bird Waterman sheds light not just on her father's life, but the life and times of southeastern Maine, from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. The incredible richness of historical detail makes the reader feel transported in time. Maynard Bird's desire to carry on the family name and make something of himself through his innate gifts and self-motivation is indeed admirable. Rose has sprinkled the story with a charming use of language and touches of wit, that make it a very enjoyable, informative and inspiring read. I hope the people of southeastern Maine are aware of this fine addition to their recorded history.

Rose Bird Waterman has written a biography that is far more than an inspiring saga of "a Maine son". This book may inspire many family genealogists to start working on their own family biographies. Just as the author's father, Maynard S. Bird, felt that each new business venture was an "adventure", the lives of many men and women are filled with adventures - as long as a biographer is fascinated with the subject and is determined to devote time and effort in research. And Rose Bird Waterman has done just that. Her father, in the last years of his life, had his business and personal papers destroyed. He wanted to be remembered as a plain man who built up his fortune and his standing in society by his own hard work and self-taught business and financial acumen. Thus, his daughter had to turn to public records, personal accounts, interviews and other "outside" sources to get full details for this exciting, poignant and, at times, heartbreaking biography. She describes historic events - from the Civil War through World War 2 - as background for her father's adventures, which ranged from founding a Maine telephone company at the age of 24 to being established as a respected New York venture capitalist, making deals with famous Wall St. financiers. But the biography is far deeper than just that of a shrewd Downeast business genius. It's the story of a family, a family like many others, with strengths and weaknesses, joys and sorrows, warmth and coldness. Besides being a book that every lover of Maine history and Maine folk will enjoy, it's a book many could learn from when writing a history of their own families and ancestors.
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(Robert Skole is a reporter, foreign correspondent and author of "Jumpin' Jimminy -- A World War II Baseball Saga: American Flyboys and Japanese Submariners Battle It Out in a Swedish World Series.")

Rose Bird Waterman has done more than create a loving picture of her remarkable father. She has contained in his story some of the amazing sweep of a 91 year life - from only 4 years after the American Civil War to the dawn of the 1960s - but more importantly helped to rescue, for the reader, a golden age in the history of the State of Maine. If social and political change forms the backdrop to Maynard S. Bird's story, the ways and manners of generations past are brought to colorful life. For those who long for simpler times, Ms. Waterman's narrative is filled with the details of home life, small town ways, tragedy, and good humor straight out of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Whether one is drawn to tales from Maine, stories of small town or 19th century life, or simply would like to spend time in good and honorable company, readers will find Ms. Waterman's fine narrative entertaining and uplifting.
Van Reid
Author of the Moosepath Saga

Rose Bird Waterman has written a poignant and gently humorous biography of her father, Maynard S. Bird, a man who dreamed of possibilities beyond the small Maine town of his childhood. His journey took him from a solid Baptist home to wealth and to poverty in his old age. Along the way he married and was widowed three times, tragically losing his heart and his most beloved bride after less than two years of marriage. This is a story that embodies the American spirit and a book that evokes the mood of optimism that characterized the early 20th century. Highly recommended!

"Nothing - not bird claws, and not fingers, especially not B's fingers - would
ever tangle themselves in my hair again, scaring me, holding me prisoner." Mercy
Donnelly has just started a new high school at the end of October, and her fellow grade
10 classmates are reluctant to accept her dark wardrobe and short, choppy jet-black hair.
Mercy rarely lets anyone get close to her, and isolates herself from the world. To make
matters worse, her life at home is no better. Her mother, Pearl, is slowly falling into a
deep depression, and most of her time is spent lying awake on her bed, staring at her
plain walls and closed curtains that haven't been opened in months. Mercy's aunt,
Maureen (whom Mercy has always called "Moo"), has just chosen a new boyfriend to
bring into their home. His real name hasn't yet been announced, for Mercy and Pearl
always refer to him as "B". B is away for work at the moment, and while he is away,
Mercy is trying to sum up the courage to tell Moo or Pearl about what he's been saying to
her, and doing to her when they're alone. However, it's hard for her to do this because
Pearl doesn't have a job and the money that Moo and Mercy make doesn't add up to
enough to support them, so B's monthly checks are what they've been living on.
However, Mercy knows it's in her best interest to stand up for herself and what she
knows is the right thing to do.
Mercy's life finally takes a small turn for the better when she makes a new friend
at school, Andrea. Andrea is an outgoing, yet not overly interesting person, but is a great
help for Mercy to have around. Also, Mercy's routine of working at the local flower shop
is relaxing and therapeutic for her, and helps to take her stress off. She also finds hope
through the storeowner, Vince, and his mother whom everyone calls "Mamma Gio." Yet
suddenly, everyone is abruptly shaken and woken up with a jolt when Pearl overdoses on
a bottle of painkillers and winds up in a psychiatric ward of a hospital nearby. Mercy and
Moo are forced to deal with the feelings and situations that arise because of this startling
news.
This is one of the novels that I can relate to the closest out of the ones I've read
before. Mercy and I have a lot in common, and I feel like I'm reading a novel about
myself in some ways. I wouldn't recommend this novel to everyone, because I think that
it only applies to certain personality types. I also wouldn't recommend it to everyone
because I feel like I'd be sharing things with people that I just want to be my own. I know
that that sounds extremely selfish, but there are certain exceptions to novels that are this
touching. Yet at the same time, I want to recommend this novel to everyone, hoping that
they can too get as much out of it as I did. However, this book has been really inspiring
and helpful to me, and will hopefully help others the same way that it has helped me.

"Nothing - not bird claws, and not fingers, especially not B's fingers - would
ever tangle themselves in my hair again, scaring me, holding me prisoner." Mercy
Donnelly has just started a new high school at the end of October, and her fellow grade
10 classmates are reluctant to accept her dark wardrobe and short, choppy jet-black hair.
Mercy rarely lets anyone get close to her, and isolates herself from the world. To make
matters worse, her life at home is no better. Her mother, Pearl, is slowly falling into a
deep depression, and most of her time is spent lying awake on her bed, staring at her
plain walls and closed curtains that haven't been opened in months. Mercy's aunt,
Maureen (whom Mercy has always called "Moo"), has just chosen a new boyfriend to
bring into their home. His real name hasn't yet been announced, for Mercy and Pearl
always refer to him as "B". B is away for work at the moment, and while he is away,
Mercy is trying to sum up the courage to tell Moo or Pearl about what he's been saying to
her, and doing to her when they're alone. However, it's hard for her to do this because
Pearl doesn't have a job and the money that Moo and Mercy make doesn't add up to
enough to support them, so B's monthly checks are what they've been living on.
However, Mercy knows it's in her best interest to stand up for herself and what she
knows is the right thing to do.
Mercy's life finally takes a small turn for the better when she makes a new friend
at school, Andrea. Andrea is an outgoing, yet not overly interesting person, but is a great
help for Mercy to have around. Also, Mercy's routine of working at the local flower shop
is relaxing and therapeutic for her, and helps to take her stress off. She also finds hope
through the storeowner, Vince, and his mother whom everyone calls "Mamma Gio." Yet
suddenly, everyone is abruptly shaken and woken up with a jolt when Pearl overdoses on
a bottle of painkillers and winds up in a psychiatric ward of a hospital nearby. Mercy and
Moo are forced to deal with the feelings and situations that arise because of this startling
news.
This is one of the novels that I can relate to the closest out of the ones I've read
before. Mercy and I have a lot in common, and I feel like I'm reading a novel about
myself in some ways. I wouldn't recommend this novel to everyone, because I think that
it only applies to certain personality types. I also wouldn't recommend it to everyone
because I feel like I'd be sharing things with people that I just want to be my own. I know
that that sounds extremely selfish, but there are certain exceptions to novels that are this
touching. Yet at the same time, I want to recommend this novel to everyone, hoping that
they can too get as much out of it as I did. However, this book has been really inspiring
and helpful to me, and will hopefully help others the same way that it has helped me.

Mercy's Birds, by Linda Holeman, is an excellent book. Readers of Judy Blume and other so called "realistic Young Adult fiction" will appreciate Holeman's realistic portrayl of Mercy, a bright young lady with some very serious problems. 15-yr-old Mercy has chosen to wear nothing but black, in response to her messed-up home life and other factors. Her teen angst is real; Mercy is facing some very serious problems. There is no sugar coating here - everyone in Mercy's world is messed up, and there are no pat answers. What makes this book unique and wonderful is the insightful way that Mercy views her world and analyzes her problems. Holeman manages to give us a book in which the characters face serious and sad problems, yet with an uplifting ending. The moral of this story is that being true to yourself is the most important thing one can do, no matter what scary things one is facing. I highly reccomend this book for young adults, but also for those who work with young adults, troubled or otherwise. This book will make you remember what it's like to be 15.

"Mercy's Birds" is a rare book -- a book that is actually quite like real life, without being depressing or unrealistic. It's a vivid, poetic, bittersweet look at things like clinical depression, poverty, child abuse, and Linda Holeman does a wonderful job of bringing them to life.

Mercy lives with her mother Pearl and her Aunt Moo, both impoverished and eking out a meager living with the help of Moo's boyfriend Barry (known as B), who is off in Indonesia. One day, Mercy chops off her blonde hair and dyes it black. It's only one of the ways she is trying to harden herself against the ever-worsening conditions of her life: Her mother's sinking depression, her aunt's blossoming alcoholism, and B's sexual advances (and threats if she tells on him).

At her new school, Mercy has few friends, even though a girl called Andrea is trying to befriend her. The only people she really communicates with is her Italian-American boss, Vince, and the kindly Mamma Gio. But Mercy's already-difficult life takes a sharp downward turn when Pearl overdoses on pills, and B announces that he's returning.

Things are bad when "Mercy's Birds" starts, and they only improve near the end. Even then, it's not improvements that defy belief. Rather, it's about a fractured, battered family growing back together, and gaining a strong little circle of friends. There's no perky "happily ever after," but things are winding up to become happier and brighter.

Holeman's writing is very vivid, and full of symbolism (such as the bright mask that Mercy creates, or her stiff black hair). She doesn't milk tragedy or sadness for sympathy, and the background she makes for each character is very realistic. And even though the world Mercy lives in is in some ways a very dark place, Holeman reminds us that dreams can still come true.

Mercy is not your typical troubled teen. As we see, her angst and anger are a way of coping with the very real problems of her life, especially problems she can't deal with alone. Her mom is virtually a nonentity, and Aunt Moo is at least trying to make an impression, even if she doesn't quite know how. Good supporting characters are the twinkly-eyed Italian widow Mama Gio and her son Vince.

"Mercy's Birds" is a unique book, and not one just for young adults. Beautiful, bittersweet, and will linger in your mind after you finish it. Highly recommended.

Kathi Appelt honors the first lady and reminds us that Lady Bird Johnson changed the way we look at the landscape. Joy Fisher Hein's joyful illustrations capture the beauty of the flowers and Lady Bird's gracious and loving spirit. Check out Hein's website to see the thank you letter she had from Mrs. Johnson about the book. Based on the number of copies I have cataloged at various libraries I know that this book has joined dePaola's The Legend of the Bluebonnet and The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush as a must-have in every school library in Texas.

As I reflected on Mrs. Johnson's passing this week I recalled that this past spring was one of the longest seasons for flowers that I could ever remember, and I've lived here a long time. Maybe it was the rainy spring weather or maybe it was just a last glorious burst of color to honor her. I do know that she left us a precious gift.

Another excellent best of '06 selection from American Horticulture Society. Our garden club gave this book to a 3rd grade classroom in an effort to encourage our youth to take care of the earth. The illustrations are a joy and the message is what we need to be spreading.

When the Bluebonnets bloom in the spring, is a wonderful time to read Miss Ladybird's Wildflowers. Almost forgotten, Lady Bird Johnson had a huge impact on our environment. This would be great for EARTH DAY. Kathi's writing reads beautifully, and I have used this book in my library for a read aloud. I was surprised how many of our young teachers didn't know who Lady Bird was. Lady Bird helped to beautify our highways by eliminating billboards and seeding wildflowers. The real bonus in the book is the chart of wildflowers on the last page, and then to have students find them on the pages, as they are woven thoughout the splendid illustrations. You will not be disappointed and I hope it will be a must for all libraries.

This is a picture book type biography of First Lady Bird Johnson. First we learn of her childhood. We learn that her nanny gave her the nickname ladybird. She was playing with her one day and said she was as pretty as a Lady Bird and the name stuck. We then learn that her mother died after a tragic accident. She fell down the stairs and never recovered from her injuries. Her father then tried to raise Lady Bird on his own but he wanted a better life for his daughter. He asked one of her aunts to come and help take care of her. Aunt Effie came and shared her love of flowers with Lady Bird. As Lady Bird grew up she meet and married Lyndon Johnson who later became the president of the United States after Kennedy was shot. As First Lady she worked hard to help the nation heal from the shock of losing Kennedy. She knew how much flowers meant to her and how much join they brought to her life so she decided to share them with the world. She set our on a campaign of her own to plant wild flowers along the interstates.

What did you like or not like about the book?

At the end of the book were pictures and titles of various wild flowers. Some of them I had never heard of before. I learned a lot about wildflowers through this book.

I really liked this book. It's hard to find a good children's book with an entertaining story, educational value, and a message. Katie truly has a gift for writing. She doesn't let her wings shrink (read the story to find out what that means).

Katie Beck's parable of faith, hope, and tradgedy is a wonderful story for all ages. Her illustrations are remarkably well done for someone so young. The story of Moki is both educational and inspirational. I recommend this book for every young person.

Miss Beck has done a supurb job of weaving a story of the Moas into a parable that teaches us all to look into ourselves for strength, purpose, and the consequences of our choices. It is a book for young and adult to savor for its simplistic beauty. The illustrations reflect the grace and triumph of the author/illustrator. A must have book for my teaching and for sharing with family. I hope this young author shares more of her wisdom and talent with the world!

I liked the Moas for its gentle, understated uniqueness. With superb pencil illustrations and compelling, easily understood text, " The Moas" tells the story of Moki, a young Moa who must teach himself to fly or perish. Far from the ordinary, a picture book for adults as well as children, its thought provoking messages are clear. Believe in yourself. Have courage to stand alone. Exercise gifts and abilities before they are lost. Avoid excesses. Have hope. Never give up. The importance of species preservation and information about Maori culture and history are interwoven into the story skillfully. As a teacher and parent I will use this book year after year

The storyteller's voice is delightful and compelling and makes this tale perfect for oral telling or read-alouds. The illustrations are a perfect complement to the text and the full effect is even better than the sum of its stellar parts.

We just got this book last week. When my kids take turns choosing books to read, this one comes first, regardless of whose turn it is. On the first reading my easily scared 4-year-old sank deeper and deeper into the couch as Mrs. Chicken got closer and closer to being eaten by Crocodile. When she actually SNAPPED on her leg, he couldn't watch. But as Mrs. Chicken's clever plan unfolded he started smiling and by the end he was laughing at what he called the coolest trick ever. He loves it.

This is a wonderful wacky folktale. The children will enjoy listening to this story and the adults will love reading it to them. In this story, a chicken finds a most unusual way of outwitting a rather gulliable crocodile. I have read this book to many kindergarten classes and I have given it, as a gift, to many young children. The response is always a happy one. The kindergarten kids will ask me to please read it again.

"Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile" combines a text by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert with illustrations by Julie Paschkis. The book jacket notes that this is a retelling of a Liberian story, and that coauthor Paye is from Liberia and was trained as a storyteller by his grandmother.

The story tells how Mrs. Chicken, while trying to see her reflection in the river, encounters the toothy croc of the title. Mrs. C tries to outwit the croc in order to avoid becoming a chicken dinner. This is a great story: it's funny, features a high stakes conflict between two strong female characters, and has suspenseful plot twists. There is a delicious irony throughout. Paschkis' colorful drawings perfectly complement the story. The artwork has a whimsical quality and clever visual touches; the main characters are particularly well realized.

This book has a great message. All Mrs. Hens friends think she is crazy, but she falls in love with this egg and when it hatches looking different then what everyone expected... it doesn't matter. Mrs. Hen loves the baby. You can apply it to many different real life experiences. Very Cute! My daughter's favorite book.

Mrs. Hen yearns for a baby chick to love. To her delight, one day she discovers an egg in her garden and realizes now she can have a chick of her very own. She takes the egg home and sits on it as any good hen would and dreams of her little chick-to-be. Mrs. Hen's friends think she's crazy -- the egg is enormous and polka-dotted and they don't think it will ever hatch. For a long time, it doesn't. After a year or so of sitting on the egg, Mrs. Hen gets frustrated and jostles it, rolls it around, and hits it with a broom in an effort to get it to hatch, but with no luck. She decides to roll it back down the hill, where it cracks at the bottom and out comes her chick -- which turns out to be a dinosaur. She doesn't care that it looks funny for a chick -- she loves it anyway. The illustrations of Mrs. Hen, particularly of her excitement on finding the egg, are charming and full of life.

I'm adopting internationally and was looking for picture books for a young child that would help me begin addressing the issue with a little one. This is a wonderful, charming, heartwarming book -the point being that Mrs. Hen wants a chick to love, and is still thrilled when her "chick" is a little creature that doesn't happen to look like her - she still adores him. The story is short, the illustrations are adorable, and it's not a "heavy", intense book at all - just a feel-good one perfect to read to small children.

Wonderful way to help explain international and cross-cultural adoption to the toddler and pre-schooler. As an adoptive single Mom-to-Be awaiting international adoption, I also like that it portrays a single parent. My only complaint is that in the 21st Century, Mother Hen should have been called Ms. Hen instead of Mrs. Hen. (I'll take the liberty to change the name when I read it to my future daughter)

We've given copies of "My Life As A Chicken" to at least four children of friends of ours. Our daughter, now 15 months, all but grew up with it.

The rhyming and rhythm are extraordinary, as are the stories the words tell. Then it's matched with incredible artwork, contrast-y and vivid and intriguing enough to draw the interest of any child.

When our girl was 9 months, she'd had the book read to her countless times. Then we took her to a really hot spot, a foreign country where it was well into the 80s in on the evening of Christmas. She was a bit lost, a bit overwhelmed ... and simply reading the book back to her, from memory, was enough to do it.

From memory? The rhythm of the book makes it so easy to memorize and have fun with. It's a great book to read aloud, and you can experiment with timing and emotion: "Hens away! Out the gate I must escape the dinner plate. Through brooding woods I scramble, prickly briared, bristly brambled ..."

So, yes, my girl loves it. And I love reading it to her. If we can find more books even one-tenth as much fun as this, she'll have a lifelong love of reading.

It was great. I bought several for my grandchildren and they love them.
The pictures are very expressive.

Although the story is good, the artwork is amazing. Beautifully done textures and colors. My sisters each bought a copy for their children and it is unanimous - thumbs up all around.

'But round my roost I hear suspicious Words like Chicken Pie, Delicious . . . ' Pauline Poulet begins her autobiography as a typical chick, resigned to peep and peck and do what chickens do best: lay eggs. But one day, she spies The Farmer drooling over "101 Chicken Recipes" and knows he is contemplating murder most fowl. Now she must choose: be Plucky or Plucked. So with a brawk and a squawk, it's hens, away! Pauline flies the coop as fast as her tasty drumsticks will carry her. Life isn't easy, however, on the other side of the picket fence. In from-frying-pan-into-the-fire fashion, she faces a carton of bad eggs: snarling foxes, hungry hawks, even peg-legged pirates, all with omelets on their minds. But Pauline prevails, landing `wilted, wounded, weak of wing' in the arms of some very special rescuers. Award-winning poet Ellen Kelley has hatched a hilarious, heart-ful tale with rollicking rhythms, active alliterations, and a rhyming text that snaps and cackles and begs to be read aloud. Michael Slack's wacky illustrations (take a gander at Pauline's eye-lashed, egg-like eyes!) match the energy and excitement and kid-friendly humor that will have all the chickadees in your roost chuckling and clucking for more.

Although it might seem dated, the information in this book is extraordinarily complete, with detailed descriptions of anatomy, behavior, and chapters devoted to specific species. You might consider a book like "Owls: The Silent Fliers" just for it's excellent photographs, but if you want detailed information, P. Johnsgard's book is unmatched. Note also, although it's fine photographs may be moderate in number, the technical illustrations far exceed all other books I've seen on owls.

This book is a fantastic reference book pertaining to the appearance, mating behaviors, habitat and range, nesting patterns, and favorite foods of North American Owls. The color pictures are so much better than any black and white drawing could hope to achieve. The individual discriptions are well organized under sub-topics for quick reference.

I have many books on owls, and this is one of the most comprehesive books that I have seen on the natural history of owls. There are good drawings and photographs in the first 15 pages of the book. The classification and evolution section was of great interest to me and very useful. The natural histories of each species is very in-depth and thorough. There is also a glossary, which is very helpful in defining words which you may not know. Overall, the book is excellent, and I would highly recommend it to the beginner, novice, or expert birder.

The book is about many different owls and how they live.Some owls live in the forest some in the snow some in the the hot dessert.they eat rodents,lizards,

This book goes through a lot of hands and lets you see ways to make some impossible looking contracts. Its a different way to view the hands you play.

Great read for any level of bridge player.

This book is an excellent learning tool for the advanced intermediate player and a good refresher for gold life masters. The subject matter is interesting, the style is clear and straightforward, and the test problems at the end of each chapter are helpful.

Nice variations of common problems.
For instance - sometimes you are short of entries to a hand. Consider a fineese you don't have to take. You may go down an extra trick, or make your game contract.

The contract looks cold - anything you can do to handle a ba dsplit, maybe a 4-1 trump break? Try ducking a trump trick. You give up on the over trick, but make your contract.

Want to pull off a squeeze. Is there a safe way to rectify the count?

Maybe you need to end play the strong hand. A few ideas.

Northing you haven't seen before if you read A LOT of bridge books, but still well presented.

Nice job!

OFF-ROAD DECLARER PLAY: UNUSUAL WAYS TO PLAY A BRIDGE HAND is for intermediate to advanced bridge players seeking less well-known stratagems to enhance the bridge move, from creating entries and surviving bad trump breaks to getting the defenders to help. Bridge players receive a fine, uncommon set of tips which is perfect for moving ahead in the skills levels of the game - and perfect for any library catering to advanced bridge playing patrons.