Birds of a Feather: Bird Books for Kids

Do you have a young bird lover in your house? A bird nerd who, at age 10, can tell you all the migratory species that pass over your house each year in each month? Every type of sparrow flitting about outside?

Whether you have a bird lover or not, the books below are worth checking out. Bird-watching is addictive, especially for children, so be fore-warned!

The books below are all good examples of noticing and stewarding God’s magnificent creation. When we zero in on the marvelous ways a particular species has been designed, noticing its particular habits and habitat, our awe at God’s handiwork grows. There is no better way to help encourage our children to be good stewards of God’s creation than to whet their appetite for continued study of his work.

When that creation can be observed from your dining room window or on a short walk in a park, even better!

Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette Cate. Add this to your Audubon bird guides for its wealth of information! Read our starred review.

National Wildlife Federation World of Birds: A Beginner’s Guide by Kim Kirki. A close look at 32 species of birds, this book is a delight for beginning bird-watchers! Read our starred review.

Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen. Feathers are fascinating, and this book dives into some of their many uses. A title that will have your kids looking around at their feathered friends with a bit more interest. Read our review.

Belle’s Journey: An Osprey Takes Flight by Rob Bierregaard and illustrated by Kate Garchinsky. Dr. Bierregaard imagines what Belle’s journey and thoughts are like based upon the tracking information his team has collected of her movements. Garchinsky’s illustrations are lovely, reminiscent of those in a nature journal. This is a picture book with chapters; ages 6-12 will appreciate it. Don’t be surprised if your children start noticing whether there are ospreys about!

The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow by Jan Thornhill. A beautiful example of humans and animals not just coexisting, but complementing each other.  Another title that is hard to classify: text-heavy picture book or longer book filled with pictures. Read our review.

Hawk Rising by Maria Gianferraro and illustrated by Brian Floca. A red-tailed hawk takes center stage in this picture book about a predator in the bird world. Read our review.

Snowy Owl Invasion! Tracking an Unusual Migration by Sandy Markle. When scientists are tracking birds, they sometimes see irruptions–disruptions in the usual migratory patterns. This book examines snowy owls and an unusual migration one year. Read our review.

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Philip Hoose. Meet B95, one of the world’s premier athletes.  Weighing a mere four ounces, he’s flown more than 325,000 miles in his life—the distance to the moon and halfway back.  But changes throughout his migration route are challenging this Superbird and threatening to wipe out his entire species of rufa red knot . . . will B95’s and rufa’s days of flight soon come to an end? Read our review.

Duet: Our Journey in Song with the Northern Mockingbird by Phillip Hoose. 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. Note evolutionary bias mentioned in our review.

Superlative Birds by Leslie Bulion, illustrated by Robert Maganck. Superlative Birds is a “Guiness Book of World Records” for our feathered friends, with a fun poetry angle. Read our Review.

Feathers Together by Caron Lewis, illustrated by Charles Santoso. A pair of real storks. The simple yet poetic text and colorful illustrations bring their story to small-humansize, that even very young children can understand. Read our Review.

Brave Baby Hummingbird by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Tiffany Bozik. Readers will learn amazing facts about these creatures: the only birds that can hover, fly backwards and forwards, and even flip upside-down. The story is told in first-person from one bird’s perspective, which encompasses the full cycle of growth, migration, and mating. Lavish full-color illustrations add to the appeal. Read our review.

What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing—What Birds Are Doing and Why (Young Readers Edition) by David Allen Sibley. What It’s Like to Be a Bird is an endlessly browsable resource for budding birdwatchers by a well-known authority in the field. Note evolutionary bias as mentioned in our review.

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