Sounds of Nature: World of Birds

A beautiful and informative introduction to birds all over the world, covering ten habitats — bush, wetlands, ice, desert, prairie, rainforest, woods, mountain, city and ocean.  The book also offers an immersive experience, with an opportunity to listen to the sounds of the different groups of birds on each page.  The back matter contains more avian insights along with descriptions of each habitat.  It’s a great book to consider if you’ve got nature enthusiasts or a budding orinthologist at home.  Head over to this post on Instagram and scroll right for an audio preview of the book.

Sounds of Nature: World of Birds was illustrated by Robert Hunter and published by Wide Eyed Editions.  It’ll be out soon on June 28.

Me and My Fear

Having moved to a new country, a young girl grapples with fear as she integrates into a new culture.  It protects her in one sense but also limits her from exploring the newness around her.   Her fear grows and stifles her.  The girl becomes lonelier, her fear growing and ballooning until another child at school reaches out to her.  She soon discovers similarities between her and her classmates that provide a bond across race and culture.  The poignancy of this story’s words and art will reach out to readers and inspire empathy, kindness and encouragement to befriend those around them.

Me and My Fear was written and illustrated by Francesca Sanna and published by Flying Eye Books.  It publishes in September.

National Parks of the USA

The great outdoors beckons readers from the first page turn in this incredible book.  It’s a celebration of the natural beauty and wonders of our national parks.  The parks featured in the book are Acadia, Badlands, Big Bend, Biscayne, Bryce Canyon, Channel Islands, Death Valley, Denali, Everglades, Glacier, Glacier Bay, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky, Mountains, Hawaii volcanoes, Isle Royal, Mesa Verde, Olympic, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Virgin Islands, Yellowstone and Yosemite.  Each park is illustrated with glorious and inspiring color alongside informative text about its native flora, fauna and unique features.  The book also includes maps, a seek-and-find challenge and an index.  Finished with a cloth cover and debossed title, this book is an absolute treasure.  It’ll be out soon on July 3.

National Parks of the USA was written by Kate Siber, illustrated by Chris Turnham and published by Wide Eyed Editions.

House of Dreams: The Life of L. M. Montgomery

“Lucy Maud Montgomery—‘call me Maud without an e,’ she would insist, discarding the use of Lucy altogether—grew up proud of her long, deep roots in the history of a Prince Edward Island.”

Reading this illuminating and insightful biography about Lucy Maud Montgomery and the parallels of her life and the characters she wrote about —  early, unexpected sadness, the splendors of a delicious imagination and rich inner life, and her pen always at the ready.  I’m absolutely loving it and am finding it hard to tear myself away from it.  But slower days and a slower schedule mean time for more reading, for which I’m glad.

House of Dreams: The Life of L. M. Montgomery was written by Liz Rosenberg, illustrated by Julie Morstad and published by Candlewick Press.

Literary Eats

These were some of the literary snacks we brought to Avery’s class to celebrate some of the books that were read throughout the year:

—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — Wonka bars with golden tickets hidden in five of them (golden ticket finders each won a book of their choice to take home)

—The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe — plain and rose-flavored Turkish delight

 —BFG — frobscottle — two kinds (first version: limeade, lime sparkling water and strawberry sparkling water and second version: lemonade and strawberry sparkling water)

PS. I’m sharing photos of the picture books we’re reading aloud during the summer on Instagram stories and saving them on my Instagram page in Highlights section under #bookaday in case anyone’s interested.  Happy summer, all!