The Way of Birds: Duet and Feathers Together

Duet and Feathers Together present two notable bird species: the northern mockingbird and the white stork.

Duet: Our Journey in Song with the Northern Mockingbird by Phillip Hoose. Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2022, 125 pages plus notes and index.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: Ages 8-15

If you’ve ever heard a northern mockingbird sing, you might have thought it was a collection of birds on one branch. No other bird has the song repertoire of this one, owing to the unique construction of its larynx and throat. The bird’s relationship with humans is unique, too: as its natural habitat of fields and forest has shrunk, it has adapted itself to suburbs and commercial districts. Duet explores the biology, history, and cultural lore of mockingbirds in fifteen chapters that could make any casual reader a fan of this bold, cheerful, and endlessly adaptable bird.

Though humans have been thoughtless in their treatment (mockers were relentlessly trapped and caged ever since their discovery in the New World), the author doesn’t take the “man as nature’s greatest enemy” approach. Humans have also defended and protected the birds from hunting and trapping. In the familiar words of Atticus Finch, “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” because they do no harm, only “sing their hearts out for us.”

One chapter on Charles Darwin and the Galapagos mockingbirds gives the birds credit for convincing Darwin of evolution (as if he weren’t leaning in that direction already and found the evidence he was looking for). A delightful chapter about Thomas Jefferson’s pet mockingbird, “Dick,” can’t resist a sidebar about Jefferson as slave-owner. Otherwise, Duet is an excursion into another wing (no pun intended!) of God’s amazing museum of nature, with striking photographs and artwork.

Overall Rating: 4

• Worldview/moral value: 3.5
• Artistic/literary value: 4.5

Feathers Together by Caron Levis, illustrated by Charles Santoso. Abrams, 2022, 38 pages.

Reading Level: Picture book, ages 0-4

Recommended for: ages 3-8

White storks are known to mate for life, but the bond established by Klepetan and Malena is epic. And definitely worthy of a beautiful picture book. It’s a true story: Malena was wounded by a poacher and never regained her ability to fly. A Croatian school custodian named her and took her into his home, where she lived with the family. Eventually she mated with a male stork whom the family named Klepetan. At migration season Klepetan flew to South Africa with the rest of the flock, but for 19 years he returned to his mate for the season. They eventually raised 66 fledglings, despite spending much of the year 18,000 miles apart.

The story imagines the pair as fast friends even before Malena got hurt, sharing a nest and telling stories and jokes. Malena’s injury shakes the bond but doesn’t break it, and one finds joy in fulfilling his migration pattern while the other makes friends in town and sleeps peacefully in a cozy house during the winter. “Missing became a gentle hum—like the purr of the cat or the flutter of a warm breeze,” and in the spring they could joyfully unite. The simple yet poetic text and colorful illustrations bring their story to small-humansize, that even very young children can understand.

Overall Rating: 4

• Worldview/moral value: 3.5
• Artistic/literary value: 4.5

Read more about our ratings here.                 

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Review: Phillip Hoose followed the fantastic journeys of a long-distance flier in Moonbird and uncovered a forgotten story of Danish resistance in The Boys Who Challenged Hitler.
• Resource: See “Birds of a Feather: Bird Books for Kids” of all ages.

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