This welcome introduction to the habits of eastern bluebirds features crisp photographs of a mated pair’s courtship, nesting and rearing of five babies to fledging and beyond. Kirby set up a nesting box in her yard, supplemented the pair’s diet with mealworms and crickets and took vividly pristine photos of the action. Text (beautifully in sync with newly independent readers’ capabilities) and photos symbiotically engage young readers with both expected and unusual details, as when a parent cleans the nest by carrying away a chick’s droppings (neatly contained in a fecal sac). (One small quibble: Credits attribute all photographs except those on pages 3 and 41 to Kirby. However, the page 3 photograph appears again in a larger format on page 12.) Concluding sections include information about the three bluebird species, seasonal behaviors, migration and conservation. Both enlightening and invigorating. (bibliography, Internet resources, glossary) (Informational picture book. 4-8)
