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THERE’S A HUMMINGBIRD IN MY BACKYARD

Name: THERE’S A HUMMINGBIRD IN MY BACKYARD
Author: Gary Bogue
ISBN: 978-1-59714-131-4

by Gary Bogue & illustrated by Chuck Todd ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2010

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A pair of Anna’s hummingbirds nest in the Bakers’ backyard, offering Kelly’s family an opportunity for feeding, watching and learning about hummingbird behavior. The threat of jays and other predators provides suspense for the slim fictional scaffolding. Readers and listeners will learn about hummingbird courtship flights, nest construction, feeding and chick-rearing habits. There’s some humor as the female swoops down to steal dog hair for her nest and later flies through the spray of a garden hose. Despite anthropomorphism in the language (“mama” and “babies”), the science is accurate and applies to hummingbirds across the country, not just this West Coast species. Bogue, a former curator at a wildlife museum, includes a recipe for hummingbird feeder water but neglects the bacteria-killing boiling step. Todd’s watercolor-and-ink illustrations vary in size and placement on the page, carrying the reader along. The paintings realistically depict these tiny birds, though the scale in some may be confusing and they are less than successful in their depictions of the human characters. This is a worthy companion to There’s an Opossum in My Backyard (2007) by this California-based author-illustrator pair. (Informational picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: June 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-59714-131-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Heyday

Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE’S AN OPOSSUM IN MY BACKYARD
by Gary Bogue & illustrated by Chuck Todd

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BEST BUNNY BROTHER EVER

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 6, 2026

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.

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Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.

Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026

ISBN: 9798217032464

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST
by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis

- BOOK REVIEW
IT'S NOT EASY BEING SANTA CLAUS
by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis

- BOOK REVIEW
CHARLIE PIECHART AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING PIZZA SLICE
by Eric Comstock & Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Eric Comstock

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)