Reviews

A Garden to Save the Birds by Wendy McClure

allicatca's review

5.0

A book all Americans should read. Fifty years ago there were 3 BILLION more birds in North America?!?

Come on, people, let's all do our part. This book is a wonderful way for children to learn how to help.

sandibeach's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ebraam's review

5.0

Simple and easy for kids to connect with; this story outlines ways that we can help foster bird friendly environments in our own backyard. Empowering for young kids, lots of suggestions for further research and things to do at home to help.

spuriousdiphthongs's review

5.0

I loved this book! The illustrations are gorgeous. It shows small concrete steps that people can take to help turn their home into one that is friendly to critters, especially birds. This book would be great if you have a little one who is interested in the outside, birds, gardening, etc. It also has a great theme of community and family running through it. Perfect to teach little ones how they can do their part for our planet! It does have a fair amount of text, but great illustrations.

libbrarian's review

3.0

This was cute but did a minimal amount of showing, and then a ton of telling at the end with that 'more information' section. I would have appreciated that more info section being integrated into the picture book itself.

mldavisreads's review

informative inspiring

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Picture book.  This is told in narrative form, but shares plenty of information, so it is a bit of a fiction/non-fiction hybrid.  After a bird crashes into their window, a family decides to learn more about what happened and how to prevent it from happening again. They learn about the devastating loss of birds over the past 50 years (about 3 billion birds since 1970) and work on making their home and yard welcoming to birds.  They start with window decals, decide to leave the fallen leaves and dead flowers over the winter, build a stick pile for shelter, fill a bird feeder, plant bulbs of flowering plants, and start leaving their outdoor lights off at night. They also talk to their neighbors, who put up a bird house and pond among other things.  They enjoy seeing not only birds but also bees and butterflies come to their yard and eventually even become a certified wildlife habitat.

I am learning more about gardening to support pollinators (I was mainly concerned about bees, but as this family found, they all  work together), so I have been reading books written for all levels.  This book has a lot of information and possible action steps despite its picture book format.  However, I don't know how much appeal it would have for kids.  It's too long and specific for a casual storytime, but could be used one-on-one with an interested child or perhaps in conjunction with a classroom unit on a broader topic (what can we do to help the earth, working with our community, etc). I liked the illustrations and the diversity of the neighborhood.  Back matter includes a list of what "you and your family can do," and a selection of relevant websites.