Birds Books

My five year old brought this book home in his nightly reading bag yesterday. We read it no less than three times and then he read it some more to himself after I put him to bed. It's a great book with well-drawn pictures and a funny story. The last page had us rolling. Now I see that there are other Minerva Louise books out there! We can't wait to read them!

Minerva Louise is so wonderfully drawn and cleverly written that I could read this and her other books to my son every night. I absolutely love this chicken, and the myriad adventures she takes. My son and I laugh every time Minerva Louise mistakes a common item for something a chicken might use, and get a kick out of correcting her. Just a great book.

Have read this book to my students and they LOVE Minerva Louise. She is so much like a real child it is uncanny. A must for any child's reading library.

I bought this book for my 18 month old because we like birds and the illustrations looked cute. I love the sweet story and the singsong rhymes like Dr. Seuss. Such a fun story and great illustrations - it didn't take long until I had memorized the whole thing, which is nice because my daughter can hold the book and turn the pages and jiggle the eyes while I recite the story to her. Highly recommend it!

We read to our children every day and I look forward to reading this book especially. It is so enlightening and a joy to read. I wish more stories had such a positive inspiration as Friends of a Feather!

An adorable book that easily catches your eye as well as the eye of your child. Arlen Cohn writes in a Dr. Suess like style which children and adults will enjoy together. An imaginitive story that introduces your children to different kinds of birds, with a summary at the end, giving a non-fiction description of each bird in an interesting way that is sure to keep your childs interest. The illustrations by Don Sullivan are absolutely fantastic, sure to make for hours on enjoyment! Highly recommended!

A wonderful book, both the pictures and words, and it really informs you about lots of birds. A sense of adventure that's mixed with suspense, the joy and the fun of the book is intense. The story is brilliant, the drawings sublime, and they manage to carry it off all in rhyme. So buy it, enjoy it, it's full of surprise, and not to forget, it's got googly eyes. Now the author's my brother, I have to confess, but that won't mean that you'll like the book any less.

This book has a wealth of time tested recipes for the Outdoors person. The recipe for cumberland sauce for venison roast is worth the price of the book alone. The book doesn't only cover wild game but includes recipes for fish and the wild fruits that grow in the great outdoors too. A must have.

An outstanding book for game cookery. The recipes range from basic, such as an outstanding meatloaf, to sophisticated "Rack of Venison au Poivade." And to further enhance this book Mrs. Steindler begins it with what to prepare for before the hunt, the importance of careful field dressing, and home care. This book is a must for those who enjoy preparing game, be it antlered, feathered or finned. I have used it since 1987 and would not be without it. I have other game cookbooks, but always end up using this one. For those of you who can your vegetable garden treasures, her "Old-fashioned Chili Sauce" is excellent. I don't make a meatloaf anymore without it on top.

This book has a wealth of time tested recipes for the Outdoors person. The recipe for cumberland sauce for venison roast is worth the price of the book alone. The book doesn't only cover wild game but includes recipes for fish and the wild fruits that grow in the great outdoors too. A must have.

This has been one of my favorites ever since I was little (and I never had an extreme attachment to a blanket, stuffed animal, etc.). I still have my original copy, although it's very tattered and hard to read (with the cover and pages coming apart). I'm now purchasing a new copy for my daughter. I highly recommend this for any little girl.

As a future elementary school teacher and a student in a children's literature class, I came across this book accidently in the library one day. It caught my attention immediately, and I couldn't put it down. Like many, many children, I too had a baby blanket that I couldn't give up (and it looked JUST LIKE GERALDINE'S!) I read the book once, then twice, then to my mother and friends and then to my literature class. I loved it so much, that I had to buy it after I returned it to the library. All the people I read it to could relate to how Geraldine was attached to her blanket and the extreme and clever measures she takes in keeping it with her always. My mom especially liked the mom and dad in the story because she was just like them too. This is a book I will keep on display and in my heart just as I will keep my baby blanket as a treasure of my childhood.

Over the years, I have purchased over 300 books for my kids library, this being one of them. My sister recommened this book because her daughter like it so well. This book soon became one of my then 3 years old daughter's favorite, probably because she was a "security blanket kid" just like Geraldine and could relate to Geraldine's struggle to retain her blanket. Even when she was in early elementary and passed the blanket stage, she would often pick this book to read from her many early readers. The pictures are darling and the story line is clever so this book isn't a "yawner" for parents to read to their kids. Now that my daughter is eleven, I have given many of her kids books away, but she insists on keeping this one. She loved it that much.

I loved this book! It was easy to read, funny and suspenceful! It also has funny drawings! Willie, Lucy and Kyle remind me of me and my friends. When they investigate Kyle's haunted house, it gets just a little scary but it also makes me laugh. I borrowed the book, but now I think I'm going to buy it so I can read it again! It's perfect to read at Halloween!

This book is about three kids that like detective stuff. They find this secret room and they think there's a ghost in there, so they try to capture it.
I think you should read this book because it is funny.
People who like funny books should read this one.

Willies old friend Kyle is moving back, but in his house is a ghost. Another problem is Willie's new friend Lucy and his old friend Kyle don't like each other. I hope they get to be friends. They're going to try to catch the ghost. Let's hope they do.
I think any kids who like Mystery Books should read this spectacular book.

This would be a terrific book to use in a classroom unit on seasons before the use of calendars, telling the time of year with the signs from nature. Team it up with Thirteen Moons on Turtles Back (Joe Bruchac) and you have a winning combination for grades 1-5.

Imaginatively written by Carolyn Arden and beautifully illusrated by Jim Postier, Goose Moon is the highly recommended thoroughly entertaining, heartfelt picturebook story of a young girl and her adventures on Grandfather's farm over the seasons.

Goose Moon is a great illustration that warm and comforting literature can still be written for children today. The bond between Grandfather and granddaughter is realistic and the anticipation and wonder felt as one reads the story and takes in the illustrations.

The story and the depiction of it blend beautifully. A true keeper for any child's library.

My son really likes this book a lot. It's really cute and we definitely recommend it.

I was fortunate to happen upon this book--my 21 month old son loves it and asks for it by name every night. It's has the kind of story that keeps kids engaged, and has a fun ending that even parents will enjoy. The rhyming text makes it great fun for kids to complete sentences as we go. Plus, there is the added feature of there being a small duck bystander on nearly every page, which is great fun for children this age to find, over and over...

My daughters are 6 years old and, we just discovered these books. They absolutely love them and, so do I. These are fun and original - they make reading fun for everyone. Thanks to the authors and illustrators. The pictures are adorable, too. It's hard to find books with great stories and pictures but, these have it. Thanks again. We hope to get the entire series.
an appreciative mom

My 7-year-old daughter loves this book! She read it at her school's library and I surprised her with a copy of her own. Beautiful artwork.

Cari Best is my favorite children's book author. My daughter is two and she loves Best's stories. Goose's story is a wonderful tale about love, friendship, family, animals, and trust. Best writes wonderfully, and the words are beautiful time after time.

"Henry hears the honking first. He circles the pond, around and a half, sending up splashes of warm spring mud all over his winter coat. Henry knows the geese are coming. And then I know it, too..." This is the best time of year for our young narrator, as the Canada geese arrive back at her family's pond, each spring. But this year she notices one of the geese has a badly injured foot, and when she visits the pond the next day, the goose's foot is gone. There she stands all alone, separated from the rest of the flock. The other geese have shunned her. "I never thought geese could be so mean." The little girl wants to take care of the poor footless goose, feed her, pet her, be her friend, but her mother and father warn her not to. "A wild goose has to learn to live with her weakness. Or she won't live at all." As the summer slides towards autumn, the little girl notices that the goose has grown stronger and more capable. It can balance and hobble on its stump, search for food, and swim. But she still worries that the goose won't be strong enough to push off and fly south for the winter, and will be left behind to die. And then one day when she comes home from school, all the geese are gone, and so is her little crippled friend. The winter months pass and the girl thinks often of the goose, and then one spring day, soon after she spots the first robin, she hears the familiar honking. "They land together. A couple of geese. Honking and flapping. Drinking and bathing. Combing each other's feathers. One is larger than the other, his neck as thick as a fire hose when he stretches it out to protect her-the goose with one foot..." Inspired by an actual event, Cari Best's touching and captivating story, as seen through the eyes of a grade school girl, is filled with drama, courage, determination, and triumph. Her engaging and evocative text is complemented by Holly Meade's bold and vibrant paper collage illustrations, that bring the wonders and wildness of nature to life. And together, word and art paint a vivid, empathetic, and uplifting portrait of an unlikely and endearing heroine. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, Goose's Story is a heartwarming tale of nature and survival, and is definitely one of the best new picture books of 2002.

The illustrations in this book are wonderful and are a perfect compliment to this strange,comforting story of a loving family and the legacy of their magical grandmother. There are some subtle nuances that parents will pick up if they pay attention. This is a tale about ecology and love for free and wild creatures, with a bit of shamanism thrown in for good measure. There is humour here and wisdom. I love this book for the satisfying feeling of gentle wonder that I feel as I turn the last page and close the book. I recommend it to all with childish hearts.

Louise Erdrich is the author of the award winning novels Love Medicine and The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse , amongst others. She is an incredibly gifted novelist. Grandmother's Pigeon is her first book for children.

I haven't read a book written specifically for children in well over a decade (Harry Potter and The Narnia series would be more for young adults and are suitable for adults on different levels), but Grandmother's Pigeon is a true children's book. It is only about 30 pages, half of which are illustrations. Like any good children's book, this one is mixed with the simple and the fantastic (perhaps all the more understandable considering Erdrich's American Indian heritage). The story is simple, a grandmother goes away on a trip and bird eggs are discovered in her room. When the eggs hatch, the birds turn out to be Passenger Pigeons (a long extinct species), three males. There is some commotion about the pigeons and finally they are released into the wild by the family. The fantastic comes in from the very start when Grandmother announces she is going to travel to Greenland on the back of a turtle and it is hinted the a stuffed animal toy pigeon may have been the cause of the mysterious eggs. It is a very sweet, charming story and I would imagine any child would enjoy reading this book.

helps to show children that people in their family can be different, but you still love them.

I enjoyed reading this book and I found the artwork to be most interesting. This book explains two of our strangest creatures, the flying squirrel and the bat, who can fly although they are not birds. The excitement builds up as the birds find a way to make wings for the little animals, no bigger than mice, to prepare for the ball game. The action of the game itself is quick and intense, as the animals and birds battle it out. Can you guess who wins? You'll find yourself cheering for Bat as he dips and dives for the ball, but watch out! Bluejay drops the ball just at the crucial moment. I give this one an A+ for enjoyment.

I am happy to find a book that describes the game of stickball the way it was originally played here in the southeast. We Cherokees called the game "the little brother of war" in the old days. Even now our villages near the Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina play against each other in the traditional was, by setting up goal posts at both ends of the ball field. You will hear the teams taunting each other just as described in this book. Thanks to the writer and the artist for helping to keep our culture alive.

What more could you ask from a picture book? The Great Ball Game of the Birds and Animals is a wonderful tale that explains how the bat and the flying squirrel came to be. Duvall's version of this story sticks closely to the original Cherokee legend with expanded imagery and character development. Like all great stories, this one teaches a lesson for human beings. Jacob's beautifully detailed drawings will hold the imagination spellbound as the story unfolds in crisp black and white. This book won the 2003 Oklahoma Book Award for Design and Illustration. I am proud to own a signed first edition that I obtained while visiting Tahlequah, Oklahoma during the Cherokee National Holiday. I highly recommend this book to art collectors and readers alike.