Encyclopedia of birds for young readers by Tomas Tuma

The Encyclopedia of Birds is a tall hardcover book with an appealing cover. The contents page is clearly set out with the first chapter being ‘Not all of us fly’. This double page spread looks at birds such as the emu, Southern cassowary and the Common ostrich. They are all fast runners and make their nests on the ground.

Throughout this engaging book each bird is beautifully drawn and clearly labelled with its own brief paragraph of information. For example, the Pied Harrier a bird of prey, flies low over the ground and catches small mammals, frogs and insects. A songbird, Great Kiskadee has a yellow breast and can be heard in South and Central America. The African pygmy kingfisher is just five inches (12.7 cms) in length and nests in the riverbank or termite holes. There is an interesting double page spread of relatives of the chicken. Some of these relatives include the Helmeted guinea fowl, Golden pheasant, Indian peafowl and Wild turkey.

Bird books are very popular for young children and this easily accessible book with well-spaced out text will no doubt have a place in a school or public library.

Themes: Birds, Description, Facts, Habitats, Characterisitics.

Kathryn Beilby