Nest Bookshelf

Credit: Henry Rancourt

Birds: What Do Flamingos, Owls and Penguins Get up to All Day?

By Alex Bond, illustrated by Henry Rancourt

Explore a full day of birds and discover a variety of new facts through sky dancing, scavengers and migration. Did you know flippers are the wings of a penguin and that pink flamingos can dance? Bond asks and answers a variety of questions throughout the nonfiction picture book, including, how do birds build safe and cozy nests? And why do they sing in the morning? Wake up early and experience “the dawn chorus” of a Mangrove Pitta, European Robin and a Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher. Explore the forests of South America and see the birds feed on the nectar of flowers. Watch the puffins in the North Pacific and the penguins underwater. Look for eggs in a nest or take flight with a Peregrine Falcon. Glide, soar, swoop and splash! Rancourt’s beautiful illustrations are filled with bold colors of green, purple, red and blue. Are you ready to sky dance with the birds?

Credit: Kate Messner

Once Upon a Book

By Grace Lin and Kate Messner

Alice can go anywhere in her books. When the pages invite her in, she travels on a wonderful adventure to all the places she loves. She becomes one with each page as steamy rain surrounds her or when she rides the wind through the sky. The magical journey encourages children to “turn the page and come in.” This picture book is a reader’s dream that opens the imagination to discovering everything around you—from new homes in the desert, to birds surrounded by flowers and floating around the stars. Gorgeous illustrations fill each page with wild and dreamlike images. Where will her imagination take Alice next? This is a dazzling celebration to read aloud with the whole family. “Once upon a time, there was a…” Write and draw your own story this summer. Where will your adventures take you?Explore the activities page on Grace Lin’s website and create a collage moon or draw a moon rabbit. gracelin.com

This article appears in BendNest Summer 2023.