Birds of a Feather
"... From bald eagle to marbled godwit, the range is wide...Semple's splendid photographs show birds in the wild - flying, perched in trees or on slender reeds, running along the sand and even bunched on a boardwalk. The colors are true, and the details sharp; careful focus and composition make the birds the center of attention. Yolen's poems comment on these birds' appearances and their curious actions...Short sidebars add interesting, informative details about each species and Donald Kroodsma, a well-known ornithologist, has added a short foreword. This is a welcome companion to A Mirror to Nature and An Egret's Day (both 2009)." --Kirkus Reviews"The team behindA Mirror to Natureagain pairs striking, full-color photographs of birds with spirited poems in a full range of styles and forms. A haiku for a kingfisher speaks tenderly to the quirky, diminutive bird ("Hey, girl, fish lover,/ Sitting on the dead gray tree,/ Love the blue Mohawk"); another offering compares a marching group of oystercatchers to windup toys; and a poem for a "solitary wood duck" admires the bird's nobility ("We surrender,/ we surrender,/ we surrender to your beauty"). Stemple's intimate photos capture a great horned owl's gaze, a chickadee's downy plumage, and sandpipers silhouetted against a sunrise, while Yolen's solidly constructed verses show equal affection." --Publishers Weekly