Reviews (3)

a wonderful little book
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.

A Bookful of Wonder
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.

wonderful illustrations, and unusual story.
helps to show children that people in their family can be different, but you still love them. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

Inside information from author Lynne Cherry
When I began writing Flute's Journey, I was going to put Flute in the woods at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center where I was then artist-in-residence. However, an ornithologist friend said, "put Flute in the Belt Woods!" "What's the Belt woods?" I asked. She told me it was a forest that had been owned by Seton Belt and he had willed it to a church if they agreed to never cut the trees or sell the land. But after he died, the church had the will overturned and put the land up for sale to a developer for $9 million. It's a long story, but many children wrote letters to the bishop of the church asking that they respect Seton Belt's wishes and save the land. And, I'm convinced, that it was their letters that saved Flute's home, the Belt woods. Their letters, like the following one, came from the heart: "Seton Belt trusted you. How can you go against him?" Our campaign to save the woods was covered by CBS Morning News with Charles Osgood and they mentioned Flute's Journey and the children's letters. They asked me what kids could do. I said, "they can write to the church." And so many more letters were sent. Now Belt Woods is preserved forever. Children helped to save Flute's home and children, in many ways, can make a difference in the world. Lynne Cherry

This book is soooo good!
It tells how hard the life of birds can be. I especially liked how it told about the cowbird who came and took one egg away because that tells the way cowbirds are. I liked how the children gaves names to the woodthrushes.

Every child and even most adults should read this book
This is a beautiful book! It provides ecological information that a child can understand. It has a strong message and is entertaining as well as educational. It has beatiful watercolor paintings and a compelling storyline. Enjoyable for parents and children. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Simple picaresque of a life foreign to most of us
This story, of a young boy awaiting the time when he can race his pigeons, glows with detail of everyday life in a world that would be foreign, both in sights and possessions, to most of the young readers to whom the book is aimed.

Rather than evoking a sense of "Oh, what a hard life," instead Ms. Kurtz tells the story of a day in this boy's life, allowing his spirit and excitement about the thing he really loves to shine through.

An enjoyable read in its own merit, Only a Pigeon is a wonderful resource for any number of curricular topics, whether it is multiculturalism, social studies or even values education. The paintings show a busy city through which this young boy must navigate, and details of life in Addis Ababa can be gleaned from Cooper's sensitive paintings, without the need to read through description or fact. ... Read more

Book Description

Citizens of Saddleboro are proud to say that theirs is the cleanest town around. So they can't ignore the mysterious death of their mascot, Cock Robin. Some people would like to blame the citizens themselves, but one boy-Tony Isidoro -- suspects there's more to the story.

Tony threads his way through a maze of clues: Among other things, the town park is overrun with trillions of ants; nights are quiet because there are no frogs singing; the nearby river contains a dangerous amount of an unknown chemical; and the town dump is emitting strange fumes. What does it all add UP to? It's an eco mystery all right, and it's up to Tony to figure out who really killed Cock Robin.

Reviews (2)

An Eco-Mystery
Environmentalist, ecologist, naturalist, and writer Jean Craighead George, the Rachel Carson for children, will win her audiences once again with this story. The plot revolves around Tony Isidoro, a young biologist who is bent on solving the mystery of the death of his hometown's feathered mascot, Cock Robin. As he uncovers assorted clues strung throughout the town--chemical activity, sudden loss of frogs and birds--Tony must try to convince his naive neighbors that not just one thing is responsible for the bird's death, but many imbalances in the town's ecosystem, which everyone is convinced is the cleanest around. Since it's an eco-mystery, the story is grippingly told in the style of a crime investigation. From the beginning you want to know Who Really Killed Cock Robin: "Cock Robin lay on his back with his feet in the air. . .It was seven minutes past six A.M. on the twenty-fourth day of May. He was dead." There are endless possiblities for the cause of the bird's death, and at times it's a bit unrealistic when Tony immediately dismisses some types of poisons and investigates others. Younger kids may have no idea what DDT, PCB, and 2,4,5-T are, though the author does try to explain them. However, the story, the dedication--"To sunshine, clear water, and sparkling skies and to the kids who are cleaning up the Earth"--and Ms. George's supportive Author's Note in the new paperback version will surely inspire kids to clean up their environment and veer away from the use of harmful, chemical-containing products. If one enjoys this Eco-Mystery, check out the others in the series--THE CASE OF THE MISSING CUTTHROATS; THE FIRE BUG CONNECTION; and THE MISSING 'GATOR OF GUMBO LIMBO. Don't forget Jean Craighead George's eighty or so other remarkable stories--the Julie of the Wolves books, the My Side of the Mountain trilogy, the One Day series. . .the list goes on and on. Each book will deepen readers' respect for nature and our beautiful but threatened planet.

Cock robin is a bird "killed" by something in the enviroment
Very well written, not so deep so that kids can't understand it. It is unique in that it doesn't lecture or preach, like many ecological books. ... Read more

Book Description

This collection of twenty-one bird poems and paintings is an exercise in feathery frivolity. From the familiar roadrunner and common crow to the exotic quetzal and Andean cock-of-the-rock, this unusual aviary of colorful creatures will inform as well as entertain young readers. “Bird lovers, old and young alike, will delight in Florian’s latest offering.”--American Bookseller
... Read more

Book Description

"Focusing on birds that migrate to northern climes in the summer months, Lerner has created another lovely, informative title for budding ornithologists. As in Backyard Birds of Winter, she combines beautiful watercolor illustrations with lucid prose....A fine introduction; helpful tips on feeders, houses, and appropriate foods; and a list of suggested further readings are included. Careful scholarship and beauty of design make this a first purchase."--School Library Journal. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great toddler book
This is a wonderful book. My 18-month old son loves it. The pictures are large and show each animal doing many different things on each page so there is a lot to talk about. The words are simple and only a few per page so it keeps my son's attention and I think will help build his vocabulary (and the animals are not all common--salamander, beaver, etc). He seems to like the ryhthm of the words and loves the ending. I'd recommend it. ... Read more

Book Description

All the birds in the woods have nests as round and trim as baskets. All except one - Tanglebird. The other birds complain so loudly about his tangled nest that they force him to find another place to build his home. In his search, Tanglebird goes to the big city, where he gets knotted in a group of kite strings. A little girl named Gina saves him from the tangle, takes him home, and teaches him how to play cat's cradle and how to tie knots and bows. Tanglebird returns home with some colored string from Gina and weaves the neatest, most beautiful nest in the forest. Bernard Lodge's vividly colored illustrations and lively text show how plenty of determination and the help of a good friend can unravel even the most elaborate tangles. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beautiful and simple
Charming simple story of a bird that figures out how to weave a pretty nest. The illustrations are ordered, and clear and ornate at the same time. This book was our favorite for almost a year. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Just like all his books
It is one of THOSE books... I just can't get away from his style, parts of the book seem to be parts of his life, he writes with so much fantasy. Non violent fantasy not for kids, but young and old adults. You learn about the middle east and you won't get bored! ... Read more

Book Description

Kristin Joy Pratt completes her trilogy with A Fly in the Sky, a colorful exploration of birds, insects, and other animals of the air. Together, the three Pratt books comprise a wonderful curriculum on animals of the forest (A Walk in the Rainforest), the oceans (A Swim Through the Sea) and the air (A Fly in the Sky), helping children develop an expanded sense of environmental awareness. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Fly in the Sky
This book is amazing, especially considering that the author was only a teenager when she wrote and illustrated it! Young children can enjoy it because of the beautiful illustrations and the story-like quality, while older children can also learn from the facts presented in the book about different creatures that fly. This book is an excellent completion of Ms. Pratt's environmetal alphabet book trilogy. The other two books she has written and illustrated ("A Walk in the Rainforest" and "A Swim Through the Sea") are also wonderful. ... Read more