WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A BIRD (ADAPTED FOR YOUNG READERS)

An expert ornithologist lays out the hows, whats, and whys of bird behavior.

Sibley, the much-admired creator of a popular series of identification guides for birds, has adapted his adult title What It’s Like To Be a Bird (2020). But, in fact, his initial impetus for that book was his desire to write an introduction to birds for young readers—not a field guide but an album that would foster appreciation for the birds around us. And here it is. In organization and presentation, this adaptation is very like the source material; a concise overview of birds in general is followed by profiles of various species. Sibley covers a broad set of the most familiar birds in the continental United States and Canada. His illustrations are striking and meticulously accurate. The format—short, informative paragraphs that focus on a particular species but also answer broader questions about bird physiology and behavior—works both for browsers and those reading from cover to cover and is just as appealing as the original. The biggest change is a good one: The introduction to each species depicted now appears at the beginning of the entry, near a portrait of the bird, rather than as part of an index in the back. Some wording has been simplified and some details left out, but overall, this is an immensely entertaining and enlightening volume that will entice both adults and children.

Splendid.