What's Inside a Bird's Nest?

January 1, 2024
Learn about the life cycle of a bird. Opening with appealing images of baby birds crying out for food from all kinds of nests and parents finding food for them in wide-ranging environments, Ignotofsky draws young readers into this latest title in her engaging What's Inside series. An experienced science writer, she simplifies and accessibly presents important information through minimal text set on spreads filled with carefully labeled drawings. Her illustrations are colorful, stylized, and full of detail. Birds all around the world court mates, construct nests, lay eggs, and guard their nestlings. Cutaway images show stages of embryo development, while sequential images illustrate a baby hatching and fledglings beginning to fly. One page discusses feathers; another labels bird anatomy. Ignotofsky also touches on the diet of various types of birds, points out ways they help the environment, and explores migration. Along the way, she defines important words such as incubation and embryo, highlighting these terms in orange. Humans who appear are racially diverse. One child, watching birds with an adult, reminds us, "You can look, but never touch a bird's nest." The author-illustrator wraps up by encouraging readers to help protect birds and learn more about them; suggestions for doing so and resources are provided in the backmatter. A thoughtfully organized and delightfully illustrated introduction. (Informational picture book. 6-9)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2024
Preschool-Grade 2 In her latest "What's Inside a . . ." book, Ignotofsky explores amazing nests and the birds that construct them. With some resounding chirps, readers are treated to a montage of baby birds in an astonishing variety of nests in locations around the world. The lens then narrows to focus on the reason for all of those roosts: eggs! A whirlwind examination of courtship rituals and nest construction is followed by a detailed cross section of an egg and the subsequent growth stages of the charming chicks. There are also thorough breakdowns of basic anatomy, feathers, (hollow) bones, and general characteristics, including migration, preferred snacks, and even a poop analysis. A quick review, helpful recommendations, and a reminder to protect our planet round out the proceedings. Ignotofsky's signature style works beautifully here, utilizing bold type, chatty text, and entertaining illustrations to keep interest while imparting a wealth of intriguing information. The impeccable combination of fun facts and eye-catching artwork will turn any reader into a fledgling fan of these incredible animals.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2024
In an assortment of nest homes, baby birds happily await the breakfasts brought by their parents. These basic needs will be familiar to humans, too, providing a welcoming introduction to birds and an invitation to learn more about them. In the pages that follow, Ignotofsky interweaves generalized information about bird life cycles (using the Eastern Bluebird as exemplar) with explanations of bird anatomy and behaviors. Questions placed throughout the text ("What's inside an egg?" "How does a bird know where to go each year?") drive the narrative forward across topics such as nest building, learning to fly, and bird diets. The cheerful illustrations ("created traditionally and using a computer") of cartoonlike birds are the highlight of the book: packed with movement, color, and humor, they sometimes fully cover one or more pages and sometimes divide into smaller panels to explore variations across species or lists, such as the steps readers can take to preserve bird-friendly spaces in their neighborhoods. A short "sources and resources" list is appended. Danielle J. Ford

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2024
In an assortment of nest homes, baby birds happily await the breakfasts brought by their parents. These basic needs will be familiar to humans, too, providing a welcoming introduction to birds and an invitation to learn more about them. In the pages that follow, Ignotofsky interweaves generalized information about bird life cycles (using the Eastern Bluebird as exemplar) with explanations of bird anatomy and behaviors. Questions placed throughout the text ("What's inside an egg?" "How does a bird know where to go each year?") drive the narrative forward across topics such as nest building, learning to fly, and bird diets. The cheerful illustrations ("created traditionally and using a computer") of cartoonlike birds are the highlight of the book: packed with movement, color, and humor, they sometimes fully cover one or more pages and sometimes divide into smaller panels to explore variations across species or lists, such as the steps readers can take to preserve bird-friendly spaces in their neighborhoods. A short "sources and resources" list is appended.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)