Birds

What ages are your children? Are you looking for books on particular birds such as robins or cardinals, or are you looking for books that deal more with birds in general dealing with such topics as feathers, flight, and different beaks?

Living books are usually written in story form by an author who is passionate about the subject. Look for books that make the subject “come alive.” Generally, you can tell if a book is living by reading a part of it. If it is interesting and you want to keep reading, it is probably a living book.

Libraries are good sources for books on nature topics. Check in the non-fiction sections for adults and children. I recommend looking in the adult section mainly because our library places books 4th grade level and up in the adult section. Also, sometimes librarians aren’t really sure of the age level of a book and sometimes a book gets placed in the wrong section.

I’ve used The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess this year. It is a wonderful book and my children have learned a lot about different birds through it. As suggested by Tara, we use it alongside the Handbook of Nature Study. We also have a bird field guide which we refer to too so that the children can view a detailed colored photo of the birds. Ambleside Online recommend Burgess.

A CM based book I have recommends a book called Birds Do the Strangest things. I’ve never read it, but I think it’s aimed at younger children (under 8yo). You can get it used on Amazon for about $1 plus p&p http://www.amazon.com/BIRDS-DO-THE-STRANGEST-THINGS/dp/B000H24QW4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237671760&sr=8-2

My children are 9 and 7 and get on with Burgess fine.

http://www.kellscraft.com/ECSKBirds/ECSKBirdscontent.html

Birds That Every Child Should Know can be found online at above link.