14 December 2022 THE BIRD BOOK by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page, Clarion, December 2022, 48p., ISBN: 978-0-35-832569-7

“When you see me fly away without you

Shadow on the things you know

Feathers fall around you

And show you the way to go”

– Neil Young, “Birds” (1970)

“He was a born naturalist, collector and experimenter. ‘Wherever we lived,’ he wrote on his website, ‘I maintained a small menagerie of lizards, turtles, spiders and other animals. I collected rocks and fossils. I built a chemistry lab in which many frightful smells and loud explosions were produced. With my father’s help, I assembled radios, electric motors and other contraptions. I also spent a lot of time with books.’

He thought he was headed for a career in science like his father’s. But at the last minute, he said, he pivoted to art school, earning undergraduate and master’s degrees from North Carolina State University’s School of Design. It was there that he met Ms. Page.”

– from the NY Times obituary, “Steve Jenkins, 69, Dies; His Children’s Books Brought Science to Life” (January 16, 2022)

“For me, making books represents the happy intersection of children, science, art, my design partnership with Robin, and my life-long love of reading.”

– from Steve Jenkins’ website

“Birds were soaring through the skies when dinosaurs ruled the land and mammals were small, rodent-like creatures. Perhaps the most surprising thing we’ve learned about birds is this: birds are dinosaurs–the only ones that survived when an asteroid hit the earth 66 million years ago.”

THE BIRD BOOK is a fitting exclamation point on the career of the late Steve Jenkins, the science professor’s son who has been celebrated for decades for his stunning cut paper collages illustrating a wonderful variety of nature-related nonfiction books for young readers. Jenkins’ books focus on the creatures that inhabit planet Earth, and on the planet itself. 

Filled with fascinating facts about bird biology, natural history, habits, capabilities, and threats to the future of birds, THE BIRD BOOK is perfect for middle grade and tween readers. It will similarly captivate plenty of tweens, teens, and grown-ups. 

Are birds really simple-minded, so-called bird brains? Certainly not all of them:

“Jungle crows in Japan have learned to use automobiles to crack nuts. They perch above a busy intersection and drop a nut onto the road. Soon, if they are lucky, a passing car will crush the nut’s hard shell. 

But that’s not all the crows have learned. It would be dangerous to fly down to get the nut when traffic is zooming past. So the birds wait until the light turns red and the cars stop.”

– from the “Bird brains” spread

Each two-page spread focuses on a particular aspect of birds: “What is a bird?,” “Bird senses.” “Flight,” “Nests,” “Bird defenses,” and “Birds in danger” are examples of the many facets of birds that are examined here. Each spread begins with a paragraph explaining the subtopic. The remainder of each spread is filled with stunning cut-paper illustrations of birds, each one captioned to explain how it relates to the aspect being discussed.

Did you know that as many as one billion birds die each year as the result of colliding with glass buildings? Interesting, thought-provoking, beautiful, and of great educational value, THE BIRD BOOK certainly does bring science to life.

Richie Partington, MLIS

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