buzzy, busy, bloomy… summer is arriving

The past few weeks in my neck of the woods I’ve been soaking up the vibrant green,
cheerful birdsong, blossoming trees, singing frogs,
basking turtles, and fluttering butterflies of mid-May.
Today’s books flaunt the loveliness of nature, and the fascination
of even the most seemingly-ordinary creatures.

Cicada Symphony
written by Sue Fliess, illustrated by Gareth Lucas
published in 2023 by Albert Whitman & Company

This year two enormous cicada broods are emerging simultaneously, one that has been hidden underground for 13 years and one for 17 years. Many of you are witnessing this phenomenon right now. These frankly plain-looking insects live such mysterious, intriguing lives!

Fliess’s jaunty, poetic text is paired with her clear, concise helpings of a little bit more info. She brilliantly leads us through the cicadas’ years lived underground, to their emergence and brief life in the open. What do they eat? What eats them?? How do they sing? Why do they sing?

Bold, vibrant, wall-to-wall illustrations dominate each page, rocketing up the drama of these wee critters. I found this book delightful and informative, and your kids, ages 3 and up will, too!

Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider
written and illustrated by Jessica Lanan
published in 2023 by Roaring Brook Press

Speaking of critters that don’t often inspire much amazement, but should! The humble jumping spider is one of the most common of spiders, found everywhere but Antarctica, but it’s far, far from humdrum. Or yucky! Or scary!

In fact its Olympian-esque jumping feats will astound you, as well as its cleverness, its astounding capacity to climb, sense vibration, see just about 360 degrees, hunt, and hide.

Lovely, narrative text, plus fabulous, warm artwork immersing us in Jumper’s world welcome us to glory in an anything-but-ordinary spider. Ages 3 and up.

We Are Starlings: Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of a Murmuration
written by Robert Furrow and Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Marc Martin
published in 2023 by Random House Studio

Birds are an easier creature to love than spiders for most of us, and the sweeping, dancing, undulating patterns created by masses of starlings seem to be a universal source of joy and wonder.

Stunning illustration work transports us into the rosy-apricot skies at twilight and right into the middle of a gathering of millions of starlings. Why do starlings do this? How do they create such mesmerizing patterns? A simple, straightforward text manages to communicate this in miraculously few words leaving us plenty of space to feel amazed.

End pages tell a bit more about the European starling’s behaviors. This is a fabulous piece of nonfiction storytelling, a brilliant collaboration of word and image. Enjoy it with ages 3 and up.

How Birds Sleep
written by Sarah Pedry and David Obuchowski, illustrated by Sarah Pedry
published in 2023 by Mineditionus, Astra Publishing House

The sleeping habits of birds are full of curiosity and this fascinating, beautiful book takes us on a worldwide tour to investigate dozens of different ways birds get their shut-eye.

Some stay warm overnight by sleeping cuddled up together in a snug, feathery ball.
Some hang upside down, like bats!
Some sleep bobbing on open ocean waters.
Others sleep while flying!

Perfectly-portioned tidbits of information about the inventive ways birds safely sleep are paired with lush, wall-to-wall artwork in a book guaranteed to fill you with wonder and prompt more curiosity about the birds in your backyard. End pages describe for older readers what exactly sleep is, how climate change is impacting birds, and easy steps you can take to help birds get their rest. Ages 4 and up.

Nell Plants a Tree
written by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Daniel Miyares
published in 2023 by Balzer + Bray, HarperCollins

I love this warm-as-toast account tracing the growth of a tree over the generations. The lyrical, clever text and Daniel Miyares’ always-impeccable artwork meet here in a glow of homely, rich, emotion and story.

Nell is the one who picks up that pecan with an itsy green sprout popping out one end. She’s the one that plants and waters it, transplants and tends it.

The generations that follow her are the ones who benefit from the secret surprise of a nest filled with eggs tucked into its sheltering branches, who lean against its sturdy trunk to get lost in a book, who harvest the pecans for a luscious slice of warm pecan pie. This one is a gem, through and through. Don’t miss sharing it with ages 4 and up.

A Home for Every Plant: Wonders of the Botanical World
written by Matthew Biggs, illustrated by Lucila Perini
published in 2023 by Phaidon Press
127 pages

This splashy, neon-bright survey of plants from all reaches of the globe is a grand collection of interesting facts about the plants that share our planet. For kids who gobble up information like sponges, it’s like a candy store in a book.

Arranged by habitat, we explore tropical, Mediterranean, temperate, arid, cold, and aquatic zones and the plants uniquely suited to growing there. Learn about mangrove forests, Portugal’s cork forests, bogs, the living stones of the South African and Namibian deserts, plants that grow at the top of Mt. Everest, and some curious velvety balls of algae that grow in northern Japanese lakes.

Each section ends with ideas for how to grow your own plants from that habitat at home. End pages offer tips for keeping those plants healthy, a brief guide to some famous botanical gardens around the world, and more. Connecting with plants is tremendously life-giving, anxiety-reducing, joyful, and critical to the well-being of all of us on Planet Earth. Read this alongside kids ages 8 or 9 and up.

*****
Find lots more great reads on my lists of:
Birds, Plants&Gardens, Nature

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