HUMMINGBIRD NEST

Paired to pale, delicately brushed close-ups done with Moser’s trademark realism, George’s simple poetic observations follow a mother hummingbird as she builds her nest—“Even after days of work / she’s still fussing, tucking— / feathers, cobwebs, a tuft / of silky grass”—lays two tiny eggs, then rears her nestlings until they take their own tentative flights. The author rounds out her “journal,” which is based on a real encounter, with congratulatory lines—“Well, Mom, you did it”—and a poem noting “new visitors” around the feeder, then closes by recapitulating the entire event in prose, adding hummingbird facts and a reading list. A smooth, easy-reading glimpse into the natural world, with a metaphorical human level that George doesn’t acknowledge, but thoughtful readers will spot. (Picture book/poetry. 7-10)