Birds Books

My son who is 6 years old says, "You should get it!".

This beautiful story has inspired my son to listen for music in the city as we go through our day. He often wonders aloud how Mozart would use a certain sound(like say for instance, our city bus) if Mozart was composing a new piece of music. We love this story.

I love this book and so do my kids. It has a clever and charming storyline that weaves in a child's first look at a musical score, a few landmarks of 18th century Vienna, the excitement of a musical premiere, the effort of creating and composing. But mostly it's a fun tale beautifully illustrated with an affectionate characterization of Mozart that completely delights children. It is a wonderful book in every respect. I wish there were a whole series from this author/illustrator bringing other composers to life for this age group.

Wolfgang Mozart must compose a new tune that will be heard in the famous Burgtheater in Vienna by Saturday evening. But poor Mozart can't think of any notes to write. Alas, he is suffering from writer's block. Until his hungry pet starling, Miss Bimms, sings a melody and gets his brain flowing. However, before he can begin writing the notes down on paper, Miss Bimms escapes through the window, and Mozart begins searching the town for the little starling. On his short trip through Vienna, Mozart begins to realize that his little town is filled with inspiring sounds, and is able to set to work on his composition once and for all.

Stephen Costanza's new children book is nothing short of enchanting. The wonderful prose contained within the pages is lovely, and flows much like a melody itself. While his gorgeous illustrations contained on every page couldn't be better. This is a wonderful book for all, whether you're a Mozart fan or not.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Our three year old LOVES this story. Although we bought it thinking it would be a Christmas time book it is now May and we are still reading it. Hoping for more from this fantastic children's author.

The story is perfect for Christmas. The stuffed penguin is just like the one in the book. We were very pleased.

My five year old got a gift certificate for his birthday and - being rather fond of the penguins - picked out this gift box for himself. My first thought was, "Great! Another penguin." but then when we curled up together to read the story, I was quite delighted with his choice, and so was he. The illustrations are very good, the layout reveals the story very cleverly and, for a wonderful change, the story is more than just a trite collection of cliche and aphorism. Highly recommended for any young child.

The used copy of this out-of-print handbook arrived in lovely vintage condition. Discovering it's pale pink embossed linen cover and stylized mynah graphic in seventies jewel tones was startling. You CAN judge THIS book by its cover. And you CAN count on an authoritative treatment in Rosemary Low titles, so it shouldn't have been a surprise that the illustrations, fonts and page designs would be a case of substance with style. This one is certain to be a permanent part of my avian library.

The used copy of this out-of-print handbook arrived in lovely vintage condition. Discovering it's pale pink embossed linen cover and stylized mynah graphic in seventies jewel tones was startling. You CAN judge THIS book by its cover. And you CAN count on an authoritative treatment in Rosemary Low titles, so it shouldn't have been a surprise that the illustrations, fonts and page designs would be a case of substance with style. This one is certain to be a permanent part of my avian library.

The used copy of this out-of-print handbook arrived in lovely vintage condition. Discovering it's pale pink embossed linen cover and stylized mynah graphic in seventies jewel tones was startling. You CAN judge THIS book by its cover. And you CAN count on an authoritative treatment in Rosemary Low titles, so it shouldn't have been a surprise that the illustrations, fonts and page designs would be a case of substance with style. This one is certain to be a permanent part of my avian library.

I am a fan of Sci-Fi and Science Fantasy. I really liked New Frontiers: The Beginning. It was an easy, fast read. I would definitely read future books in this series!

Secretly a group of powerful men have uncovered and adapted alien technology and built a ship that will travel many times the speed of light. Paul Brown is an ordinary man who is chosen to command this ship.

Paul leads his crew to explore new worlds. They discover several new worlds in various stages of evolution. They encounter their first alien civilization where things go terribly wrong. Meanwhile, Paul must defend the ship and his crew from outside forces trying to sabotoge his mission.

This is an exciting book that kept me anticipating the next page. I had a hard time putting it down. Definately worth reading!

Searching for information to take care of my newly acquired small flock of lovebirds I found this book. With 160 pages it contains sufficient information, although not extremely detailed. It is indeed an excellent guide for those who begin to raise and take care of these lovely birds. Beautiful pictures, a good layout and hard cover make it a very handy and useful book, well worth its modest price.

I do not own a lovebird and had never owned any pet bird at all, but I had received this book as a gift and had read it several times since then! Some of the pictures are beautiful and high in quality, and if I had a lovebird, this book would have all the information I would need, from where to buy a lovebird, to breeding and hand-feeding babies. The endearing traits of lovebirds described in the book, such as an "affectionate lovebird [hiding] in it's human's clothes or underneath long hair" has definitely made me want to own a lovebird as soon as it becomes possible for me.

I've had lovebirds for a few years, and I'm always looking for new information about them. This book is one of the best I've found. The text is clear and the advice is easy to put into practice. The photos are pretty as well. I highly recommend it.

This is one of the most gorgeous books you'll come across--every aspect is beautifully thought out. The bird paintings by the Gentlings are breathtaking--and often offer a little sly humor in their composition. Treat yourself or another bird lover.

When Of Birds and Texas was first published in 1986 it was quickly deemed the most magnificent book in the history of Texas publishing. Consisting of 40 exquisitely detailed bird portraits and ten Texas landscape scenes, the volume was enhanced with accompanying commentary by the Gentling brothers and a personal essay by John Graves.

Yet the 23" by 29 ½" outsize folio which weighed 46 pounds was beyond the reach and shelf space of many. Thus, it was printed as a limited edition. Now, for the first time, this unparalleled volume is available to a mass audience at an affordable price and manageable size while retaining the original 50 color plates as well as 28 remarques. Retaining the integrity of the original folio, this is truly a work of estimable quality and a collector's item.

In addition, the recent edition offers a new essay by Stuart Gentling, "Of Birds and Texas, Audubon and Us," in which he relates how the brothers' profound respect for the famed ornithologist/artist paved the way for them to create this book, which is inspired by Audubon's work.

The Gentlings are twin brothers, artists, authors, and lecturers based in Fort Worth. Having discovered at an early age the print edition of John James Audubon's Birds of America, they now share a passion for art, world culture and wildlife.

His keen interest in wildlife, particularly birds, led Stuart to learn taxidermy. Both brothers began a serious study of art when they were 14. Their awards are numerous; their paintings may be found in museums and libraries throughout Texas and the United States. This year Scott received a commission to paint a portrait of President George Bush for the Texas State Capitol dome.

Artwork in Of Birds and Texas is created collaboratively by the Gentlings. In the original folio are reproductions of watercolor paintings with the color, blend and atmosphere attributed to Stuart, while the line and small strokes were contributed by Scott.

Getting the first volume published proved to be a formidable task. Plans reached a standstill when it was discovered that the actual production of the folio would cost more than double the estimates. What rescued the project was a lucky find by Stuart in the Philadelphia Print Shop catalog: a listing of Audubon's "The Great Crow Blackbird." The brothers were able to purchase the Audubon for $18,000. After its authentication as an original Audubon, it was sold at Sotheby's for $253,000. Thus, the completion of the original Of Birds and Texas was made possible.

Our loss would be great had this not been so. More than just a work of incredible visual beauty Of Birds and Texas is a joy to read as each color plate is partnered with a bird tale by the Gentlings.

A treasure in itself, the essay by beloved Texas author John Graves is as gracefully written as the classic works for which he is known, From A Limestone Ledge: Some Essays and Other Ruminations About Country Life In Texas, and Goodbye To A River. Once again, Mr. Graves writes with trenchant luminosity.

This landmark volume is dedicated to John James Audubon. It is now recreated for all to enjoy.

- Gail Cooke

This book has received an Award of Excellence from the 2001 Southern Books Competition. "You could not find a lovelier title page spread than that in Of Birds and Texas. The sensitive calligraphy and the well-designed two-column text pages support the stunning bird prints." Congratulations to the authors, designer Ellen McKie and the University of Texas Press.

All the Maurice Pledger board books are extremely durable. The pictures and textures are attractive to babies and toddlers. These books really hold my daughter's attention.

My 14 month old daughter loves this book! She has owned it since she was 8 months old and has yet to tire of it. The illustrations are beautifully detailed with the bonus of teaching with fun textures on every page. My daughter has learned to identify texture as well as many animals and insects. I would highly recommend this book for early learning and fun!

We purchased Maurice Pledger board books (Oscar Otter, Olive Owl and Billy Bunny) for our child at 6 months and at 2 years old they are still favorites. Here are just some of what we love about them. The illustrations are spectacular. They accurately represent the wildlife being depicted. There is a great variety of textures to appeal to a child's desire to touch and feel. Our child's favorite page is the "sticky" plant in Olivia Owl. They encourage interaction with questions like "How many shiny beetles has he found on the rose bush?" (from Billy Bunny) and requests like "Tickle her orange tummy." (from Oscar Otter). They are oversized for board books (approx. 9x11 inches), which our child loves. They give children nice big pictures to look at.

Wildlife managers, landowners, hunters and anyone else interested in ensuring bobwhites thrive on their property will find Dr. Fred Guthery's newest book, On Bobwhites, an invaluable resource.

The man known as "Mr. Bobwhite" has all the bases covered in his latest publishing endeavor. On Bobwhites provides a wealth of information in a single volume. If you could only have one book on the bobwhite quail, this should be that book. It is extremely well organized into four sections containing 55 short chapters, making it easy to check the table of contents and find reference to most any question on quail.

Wildlife managers, landowners, hunters and anyone else interested in ensuring bobwhites thrive on their property will find Dr. Fred Guthery's newest book, On Bobwhites, an invaluable resource.

The man known as "Mr. Bobwhite" has all the bases covered in his latest publishing endeavor. On Bobwhites provides a wealth of information in a single volume. If you could only have one book on the bobwhite quail, this should be that book. It is extremely well organized into four sections containing 55 short chapters, making it easy to check the table of contents and find reference to most any question on quail.

The book covers a variety of topics relating to bobwhites. Dr. Guthery does an excellent job of showing that many of the myths proposed about bobwhites are not backed up by any facts. The writing is not at a technical level, so the book is easily read and understood by a variety of audiences. A must for any quail enthusiest!

This Pocket Poets series has done us a great favor by publishing these short collections of a central theme. Past volumes focused on common poetic themes (i.e. love, war, friendship), and while there has already been a volume on animal poems, one devoted to bird poems is certainly time- and paper-worthy.

This little book gives lovers of poetry (and of birds) a chance to indulge in the seemingly forbidden enjoyment, in today's poetic world, of poetry as an ebullient celebration of the simple and mundane. With so many poets of our time are so caught up with catharsis, neuroses, unresolved parental issues, and the like, it's difficult to imagine those poets taking the focus off themselves long enough to consider something like birds, let alone write poems about them. Fortunately, as this book enchantingly demonstrates, our poetic heritage is too rich to let us forget that poet craft has a vast voice to speak of many things, and with a topic such as birds, the poem has the power to shake us out of our indifference to the ordinary, letting us see its beauty by honoring with beauty.

I presently own all the volumes of the Pocket Poets series to date, and this volume easily ranks among my favorites. It includes a fascinatingly broad range of poetic literature from the Bible to contemporaries like Seamus Heaney, and its last section pays homage to "famous" birds in poetry, such as Coleridge's albatross and Poe's raven. It's worth every cent, and has a very attractive dust jacket to boot, so you'll be tempted to leave it out on your coffee table just to impress your friends.

J.D. McClatchy, a superb poet and the editor of The Yale Review, has put together a number of landmark anthologies over the years, including the Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry and Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry. For the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets series, he has co-edited an anthology of Christmas Poems with John Hollander. And, most recently, he has edited the Library of America's outstanding edition of the poems of Longfellow. But perhaps nowhere has he brought his refined taste and peerless editorial acumen to bear more beautifully than on this Everyman edition of some of the finest poems about birds in the English language-ON WINGS OF SONG.

McClatchy sets the tone for this collection in his elegant foreword: "At the very dawn of civilization, birds were symbols of the spirit. Falcon or dove, stork or raven or owl, they were our messengers, fierce or gentle intermediaries between our earthbound lives and the upper air." Keenly aware of emblematic types and the categories that they fall into, McClatchy carefully arranges the anthology accordingly. The list of poets that grace this anthology include many timeless masters, ranging from Virgil to Chaucer, from Wordsworth to Yeats, and from Poe to Frost.

The great Romantic era poems about birds, such as Shelley's "To a Skylark" and Keats's "To a Nightingale" are duly included, but the surprises in the collection are numerous. Among my favorites is a little-known four-line poem by the Anglo-Indian poet Vikram Seth, entitled "Pigeons": "The pigeons swing across the square/Suddenly voiceless in midair,/Flaunting, against their civic coats,/The glossy oils that scarf their throats." A number of the poems are also downright funny. Chief among these is X.J. Kennedy's sardonic "Vulture": "The vulture's very like a sack/Set down and left there drooping./His crooked neck and creaky back/Look badly bent from stooping/Down to the ground to eat dead cows/So they won't go to waste/Thus making up in usefulness/For what he lacks in taste."

McClatchy does a masterful job of arranging the poems in a manner that refreshes and surprises the reader at every turn. ON THE WINGS OF SONG is a must have on every birdwatcher's and verse lover's shelf.

This pocket-sized hardcover of poems about birds provides a beautiful gathering of literary verse revolving around birds, separated by general bird categories from 'backyard' and 'barnyard' to 'birds of prey' and beyond. A fine gift for a literary birder.

Really a well written, fun book about my two favorite subjects golf and politics.

I got this book for my husband but I read it too. It was a great story to read especially on a cold winter night. I enjoyed it too and I don't play golf. I recommend it highly.

Great book from cover to cover. The author definitely has a unique but completely appealing sense of humor.

The characters and situations are well thought out. You don't have to be a golfer or have a political vein to enjoy this. It takes you on the improbable roller coaster ride of a prospective pro-golfer as he falls head first onto the American political scene. You'll never look at the (rat)race for the White House the same way again.

I couldn't put this one down. Absolutely a MUST READ!!!