– Shhh, What Beautiful Things Are You Missing? –
Publisher’s Overview
Meet Ruby, a plucky young girl who uncovers the wild side of her city neighborhood with the help of a grown-up friend. When Ruby realizes there are amazing birds right in her neighborhood, her imagination takes flight. Birders have a name for the moment they get hooked—they call it their spark moment. This is the story of Ruby’s spark moment in her very own words.
This delightful story includes a seek and find element with birds hiding on nearly every page. Information about where to find all of the birds in real life follows, plus Ruby’s tips for taking a nature walk, and how to connect with Celebrate Urban Birds, a citizen-science project at the Cornell Lab.
My Thoughts
I had trouble connecting with this story. Though I think perhaps it was more the text. Basically, the story is about an energetic girl named Ruby who is introduced to birdwatching by her neighbor. When she discovers what it takes to watch birds and the excitement it brings, she’s anxious to share the activity with her family.
But as fast as I say I wasn’t all that crazy about the text, I did like various other aspects of the book. After the story, there are activities and information that promote watching birds. Perhaps one of the most fun activities for some children will be backing up and reading the story again. And this time searching and identifying each bird on a page that might have gone unnoticed the first time through. There is a key at the back of the book with the name, picture, and short description of each bird. It’s a bit of a find and identify the bird activity.
There is another section at the back of the book titled Ruby’s Tips for taking a nature walk. Also, two websites are included for readers to learn more about birds as well as Central Park, where Ruby enjoyed her walks.
I received a review digital copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review completely voluntarily. Thank you #CornellLabPublishingGroup #wundermillbooks #persnicketypress #MyaThompson and #BookSirens .
- Title: Ruby’s Birds
- Author: Mya Thompson
- Illustrator: Claudia Dávila
- Publisher: Cornell Lab Publishing Group (March 2019)
- Genre: Nonfiction / Birds / STEM
- Age Range: 3 – 7
- Pages: 36
☆☆☆1/2
What Concerned Me
As I mentioned above, the text didn’t really excite me. It felt like it could have been written in a more interesting manner.
Final Thoughts
The information at the back of the book and method of teaching what certain birds look like was a great way of providing interaction. A very enjoyable book.
Activities
Cornell Lab of Ornithology E-Store
About The Author
Mya Thompson has a Ph.D. in Animal Behavior from Cornell University and currently works at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where she is the creator of Bird Academy and the author of games including BeastBox and Flap to the Future. Mya lives with her husband and two children in Ithaca, NY, where she enjoys taking walks with her kids leading the way.
About The Illustrator
Claudia Dávila writes, illustrates, and designs books for kids of all ages. She is the author-illustrator of the picture book Super Red Riding Hood and a graphic novel series, The Future According to Luz. Born in Santiago, Chile, Claudia now makes her home in Toronto with her husband and their two kids. They spend many evenings together drawing, sketching, and making up funny characters and super silly stories.
