Birds Build Nests
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Full-page, exquisitely detailed, realistic watercolors in  richly tinted hues, each showing a particular species of bird in  its natural habitat, are the real highlight of this very simple,  poetically written introductory piece. Each five-line verse  appears on a white page below a painting of an egg-filled nest.  On the opposite page is an in situ illustration to which it  relates. For example, "Birds build nests, Eggs deep  inside, Secret spaces Where fledgelings hide. That's how birds  build their nests" appears below a picture of a nest holding  four blue eggs that is woven of various grasses and bound to  thick plant stems. On the illustration opposite the text, a  red-winged blackbird stands above its nest, which is hidden  among tall grasses, a newly hatched open-mouthed baby in the  nest, and a fluffy brown-and-white striped youngster perched on  the edge of it. Of the 15 species shown, 7 are native to  Australia (the author's home), 4 to Asia and Africa, and just 2  to the U.S. Two species can be found worldwide. A nest  identification guide on the final two pages gives the species  name in English and Latin, a description of the nest and its  location, and a small reproduction of a nest with eggs as it  appears within the book. Adults and children who love nature  will be attracted to the illustrations (including the lovely  cover) and intrigued by the variety of constructions and  locations found within.Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public  Library, OHCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.