A beautiful and informative reference work.
An illustrated guide to hummingbirds in the Grand Canyon State.
Isley, a photographer, here presents an overview of the 15 hummingbird species that make the American Southwest their home. The author details the amazing biology of these birds, whose wings flap 50 to 80 times a second and whose hearts beat up to 1,360 times per minute. Their brisk metabolisms and specialized feeding strategies are covered in detail before Isley moves on to identify the species most likely to be seen in Arizona, such as Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna), whose males are “known for their beautiful iridescent pink to red throat and crown feathers, while females have an understated greenish appearance with a hint of pink”; “A single Anna’s hummingbird may need the nectar output of 1,000 flowers to get water and calories daily that it needs to survive.” The author discusses hummingbird migration patterns by species to both demystify these incredible creatures and help readers attract them to their yards and bird feeders. (Hummingbirds are territorial, readers learn, so multiple feeders in one yard space will help to facilitate the presence of more than one species for viewing and conservation.) Isley’s magnificent full-color photography adorns every page of the book, and the information she provides is both sweeping and specific. She advises her readers, for example, on the practicalities of bird rescue: “If the hummingbird is conscious and seems to be in need of food, you can offer it a very diluted sugar water solution (about one part sugar to four parts water)”; “Don’t force it into the bird’s beak, and avoid using honey, as it can be harmful to them.” It’s easy to enjoy the visit of a hummingbird on a bright summer day, and this lovely book will enhance that enjoyment in every way.
A beautiful and informative reference work.Pub Date: June 18, 2025
ISBN: 9780988751842
Page Count: 164
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.
A charming bird journey with the bestselling author.
In his introduction to Tan’s “nature journal,” David Allen Sibley, the acclaimed ornithologist, nails the spirit of this book: a “collection of delightfully quirky, thoughtful, and personal observations of birds in sketches and words.” For years, Tan has looked out on her California backyard “paradise”—oaks, periwinkle vines, birch, Japanese maple, fuchsia shrubs—observing more than 60 species of birds, and she fashions her findings into delightful and approachable journal excerpts, accompanied by her gorgeous color sketches. As the entries—“a record of my life”—move along, the author becomes more adept at identifying and capturing them with words and pencils. Her first entry is September 16, 2017: Shortly after putting up hummingbird feeders, one of the tiny, delicate creatures landed on her hand and fed. “We have a relationship,” she writes. “I am in love.” By August 2018, her backyard “has become a menagerie of fledglings…all learning to fly.” Day by day, she has continued to learn more about the birds, their activities, and how she should relate to them; she also admits mistakes when they occur. In December 2018, she was excited to observe a Townsend’s Warbler—“Omigod! It’s looking at me. Displeased expression.” Battling pesky squirrels, Tan deployed Hot Pepper Suet to keep them away, and she deterred crows by hanging a fake one upside down. The author also declared war on outdoor cats when she learned they kill more than 1 billion birds per year. In May 2019, she notes that she spends $250 per month on beetle larvae. In June 2019, she confesses “spending more hours a day staring at birds than writing. How can I not?” Her last entry, on December 15, 2022, celebrates when an eating bird pauses, “looks and acknowledges I am there.”
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593536131
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
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