10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2014

I love reading children’s books, even though my child is well over the age when she asks to have them read at bedtime and my nephews fall asleep all too easily after playing lacrosse all day. Here are three excellent but very different children’s books I enjoyed this year (two were published in 2013, one in 2011).

Puerto Rico 232

Puerto Rico Parrots New York City 2013 232

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2012

Third, Hawks in Flight was primarily illustrated by David Sibley’s excellent black-and-white drawings, supplemented with a collection of black-and-white photographs in the back of the book. There really is nothing like this book. A great deal of thought has obviously gone into how Hawks In Flight is made and how it will be used.

North America 222

North America Bald Eagle Birds Eagles 222

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Charles Harper’s Birds & Word s is the signature book of this bird and nature artist’s career. I love cardinals, real and illustrated, but the wonderful thing about this book is that you can also enjoy Harper’s other images, like Western Tanager and Eastern Kingbird. These are good examples of Harper’s art and text.

Betty Crocker 170

Betty Crocker Birds 2008 2007 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2014

And, if the first book in the series, the American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of New Jersey by Rick Wright (author) and Brian E. As I noted above, organization is a particular problem with bird books aimed at beginner birders, and there are guides that are based on color or other systems that pair look-alike species together.

New Jersey 241

New Jersey Birds 2014 Species 241