Books to me are not finite objects to think of alone. Much like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, books link us to others, to other books, to ideas and questions. So I love it when two books come along that are just meant to be next to each other on the bookshelf! Let’s fly in the two stars of this blog:

Birds and the Feathers by Britta Teckentrup and A World of Birds by Vicky Woodgate

For those who also like to do a bit of book-to-book hopping, here are a few birds you can cross reference in both books:

Northern Cardinal

Hummingbird

Barn Owl

Heron

It would be good to compare the layout of each book, discovering different non-fiction features and choices.

Let’s jump first into Britta’s stunning book. If you are a fan of her work, the illustrations in this book will certainly not disappoint you. I’m a fan of Moon and Bee, to name a few, and the style of those books is recognisable in this beauty, too.

Each page turn reveals another beautiful illustration. Now, I didn’t realise I knew so little about feathers. Turns out I do. But what a joy discovering new things. This book crams in feather facts from all kinds of perspectives. Discover all things plumology (what a word!), growth of feathers, size, colour, shape and lots more. Read about wing types, singing feathers, feathers for protection and feathers on the moon!

It really does have something for all readers. This is a book for adults and children to read and enjoy together. Jump in at the point of interest or read the whole lot. This book is flexible.

Pages to point out –

I love flamingos. This fact is one I did know, but I just love the illustrations and technical language used. Wouldn’t it be great if your hair became the colour of what you ate?! Young readers could create a diet for colour transformation. As much as I’d like pink hair, I think going from what I eat (or drink!) my hair may be a shade of claret!

Biggest and smallest feathers. How much fun could you have in measuring and ordering found feathers with young readers, or making a to-scale drawing with older readers. Reading is #STEMsational. In the book we learn the longest and widest tail feather of a wild bird is the Crested Argus Pheasant. The smallest feathers, those which you’d need a magnifying device to see individually (wow!) are from the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba.

Read about the use of feathers by humans. This could spark an interest into the beginnings of the RSPB, when you read about feathers on hats. Or maybe you could use feathers in your artwork after reading about quills. Check out the excellent work of Clare Brownlow for some inspiration.

A fascinating feathery read!

Now onto Vicky’s fabulous book. We have really enjoyed her Urban Jungle book in our house. Its size makes it perfect to share. We have pored over the pages making new discoveries. A World of Birds has the same distinct style, but this book is a neat little size – handy to take out and about, when you may spot some birds.

The contemporary style is attractive to older children, but still does all the justice deserved to the beauty of the birds. I love that the book includes the Latin names for children to get their teeth stuck into and tonnes of technical vocabulary. Each page is packed with information in various accessible forms, that will draw curious eyes across the pages. I like the scale measurements and can see lots of opportunities for real measuring to take place in the classroom linked to this. Reading is STEMsational!

Each bird is in full colour on its own page, taking the centre stage. The ‘in action’ poses are fun and real. The clever use of font and diagrams shares so much more about the bird. There really is a lot to discover!

Pages to point out –

For each continent, the section begins with a map. This is brilliant for developing geography knowledge and skills. Why not look at the journey of some migratory birds with your class? Where would you migrate to for the winter?

Hummingbirds are just fascinating, don’t you think? You have got to check out this double page spread and arm yourself with some small bird facts to impress your friends with! I wonder how many hummingbird facts your pupils can remember?

I bet your class can be a noisy bunch. Look closely at the bird sounds on each page. I think this a really fun part of the text that you could really have fun joining in with. Why not get to know some of the bird calls of our British birds on the RSPB A-Z section.

Another bird-tastic book!

If you’re interested in bird books, check out this post.

And don’t miss out on this chance to nurture nature lovers in your classroom with Springwatch live for schools.