CURIOUS ABOUT BIRDS

Fine feathered friends preen in this informational board book.

Somewhere between art book and early bird-watching guide, this board book introduces various avian factoids. Short, matter-of-fact sentences do an adequate job of conveying the most basic bird-related information. But while statements such as “birds have wings” or “most birds fly” are the right length for toddlers, they verge on clinical and dry. Although the surface-level information might satiate some young readers, inquisitive listeners may want to understand more deeply why “some birds are hard to see” or how exactly “birds are important to our world.” To some degree, the simple text seems an excuse to show off the elegant watercolor bird illustrations, repurposed from previous picture books by the Sills. With a single bird species per page situated on a meticulously accurate, full-bleed background of their habitat, birds soar, hunt, nest, and perch. John Sill illustrates birds from various vantage points and perspectives, including a bald eagle gliding above viewers and a tiny ovenbird face to beak with readers on the ground. Always, the respect for the natural world is apparent in the realistic colors and poses. Under the compelling art, a plain contrasting band of color holds the drab text (printed in a stiff, serif typeset that matches the text’s formal tone) along with a well-appreciated italicized identification of every species that’s shown.

Solid—but never soars.