A Giveaway Is Flying Your Way!

        Thanks to Peachtree Publishers, I have the pleasure of offering a giveaway of this marvelous book, Superlative Birds by Leslie Bulion and Robert Meganck. With poems that vary (just like birds) in using the facts to tell about the birds who are the biggest, loudest, stinkiest, fastest, and more, here is the book for bird lovers, enhanced with extraordinary illustrations, both realistic and humorous. When I began to write this post, I marked too many pages I wanted you to see, looked again and chose only a few favorite parts. That's the challenge when reviewing a wonderful book, choosing what to share!

     
              Added to the book filled with poetry and science is a small chickadee guide, the Master of Ceremonies! Let me introduce you.

    Among the amazing facts, the reason for our chickadee guide is that scientists have found "that many other species of birds and some species of other animals living near chickadees can understand chickadee calls--especially warnings about predators in the area." They even lengthen their calls to show that a threat may be large!  Still another intriguing thing about these chickadees is that they can enlarge a part of their brains per a need. The part that needs to remember where those seeds are stored enlarges, or if the memory of a mating call is needed, that part enlarges. Fantastic, right?
          Robert Meganck's chickadee cartoons add to the information with its comments given in speech bubbles. On the page sharing about the wandering albatross, with the widest wingspan of all birds, a bat spreads its wings, too, showing the fact that not only birds have wings. Another page tells about the shrike, with Leslie's poem titled "Ghastly Pantry", a poem showing a way that this bird stores its food. It hangs it on a wire fence or thorny tree to allow it to rot until it softens, until the shrike's small beak can eat!

            Favorite birds, so hard to choose! While I don't know much about many birds, I do know most names, but then I turned the page to hear about the Timberdoodle and to read "Timberdoodle Blues". Here's the beginning:
                                           "Look at me. I've got eyes set above my brain,
                                            Not behind, on the sides–but 'above' my brain.
                                            Looks wierd, but I see three-sixty and can't complain."

It can see 360 degrees without moving its head!

This time, Bulion focuses on the looks, but the poems can show unique traits or behavior examples. Here is one wonderful double-page spread so you can learn about one more bird, enjoy Leslie's unique poems,  as well as Robert's gorgeous digital illustrations.

         The poems are delightful to read aloud, sometimes with rhythm and rhyme, sometimes free-verse, and for a few, forms unique to the bird's geographical area, like the tendi, "a four-line stanza with Arabic origins used in traditional Swahili poetry." for "A Billion Queleas".
         

           There is something special in every part of the book. The above spread is a picture of the opening inside cover, showing the birds inside with their unique description. The back two covers name the bird!

          Added in the back matter are a glossary, Poetry Notes about each poem, and additional resources to learn more about the world of birds. Bird lovers everywhere need to add this "superlative" book to their collections!


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