5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A jewel of a book...., August 31, 2004
This book is a tender treasure of hummingbird experiences through the wide-open eyes of a family entranced and the pen of a noted writer clearly in love with her subject.
Written as delightful poems, the story contains many teachable moments following "Anna" through the birth process, portraying the teetering and testing of the young ones' wings, proceeding on to the inevitable empty nest. It was hard to hold back tears as the wonder-filled story touches on the universal, relating to many cycles in our own lives.
The delicate watercolor drawings are beautiful in their own right, yet support and enhance the story in seemingly perfect harmony.
I heartily recommend this book to hummingbird lovers and children of all ages, who, caught up in the flow of the story, will absorb many hummingbird facts before they even know it.
Beth Kingsley Hawkins
Co-Editor, The Hummingbird Connection
www.hummingbird.org
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Educators Recommend, March 14, 2004
One warm, February morning a tiny hummingbird began building a nest in a ficus tree on the patio of George's home in Claremont , California . For the next two months George kept a "hummingbird journal" of the daily happenings. "I still marvel," she writes, "over the surprising range of emotions one small bird and her family evoked: awe, worry about possible dangers, and laughter when the baby birds teetered on the edge of the nest for their daily flight practice."
George has expertly taken those emotions and woven them into this delightful collection of poems. In "Visitor" we are introduced to the small mother. She is nothing more than a "spark, a glint, / a glimpse of pixie tidbit." In the next poem, however, we see her bravado and determination in action. She becomes a "feathered missile streaking by," ordering the humans off her patio, out of her territory.
Soon two eggs are visible in the "cobweb ship" of a nest. Once hatched, the nestlings, "raisin black / an wrinkled," settle in. In "Flight Practice," George does a superb job at allowing the reader to visualize the drama taking place: "Four curled up feet grip / the top of the nest. / Two tiny motors / rev up for the wing test."
Moser is in top form here. His realistic, incredibly detailed watercolor paintings are small jewels in themselves.
The poems and illustrations combine wonderfully to allow readers the opportunity to vicariously witness nature up-close.
Highly Recommended.
Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For hummingbird lovers of all ages, June 5, 2004
As a reading specialist I regularly review new children's books. As soon as I saw this one, I thought of my mom. She's a sharp-minded 87-year-old who loves poetry, art and hummingbirds. She gives the artistry, both words and watercolors, of this book an easy five stars.
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