About Birds: A Guide for Children

by Cathryn & John Sill

Anyone who has ever wandered around outside has most definitely seen countless colourful and energetic bird species. They flitter around, enticing us with their playful chirps and their hop skippety jump routines, and when they take flight, we all have a secret longing to do the same.

Your child is no different. Bird fascinations begin in infancy and, for many of us, span a lifetime. We know that Robins returning herald spring and that geese flying south in their trademark ‘V’ formation mark the end of a lazy summer. How do we know these things? Well…through observation and understanding of the natural world.

It is never too early to get your children interested in noticing the wildlife around them, and birds are an easy first step in that direction. They’re everywhere in abundance and can be coaxed to sit on your backyard bird feeder and join the family for a few moments of inter-species outreach.

Birds are an indicator species of the health of the world of nature. They tell us much about the environment. If a person learns to care about what is good for birds, she/he inevitably does what is right for the entire ecosystem.

Catherine Sills, an elementary school teacher, and her husband, Bill, a prize-winning wildlife artist, have created a wonderful beginning resource for you to introduce your young ones to the world of birds. The illustrations are beautifully precise and rendered in living colour, and the text is well suited to a young reader’s level of understanding. A must read to start your young one on a path of loving nature.

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