HOW TO LOOK AT A BIRD: OPEN YOUR EYES TO THE JOY OF WATCHING AND KNOWING BIRDS — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

~ Pearl S. Buck ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Sue Coletta writing for The Kill Zone has a great post HERE
that discusses how Description Creates a Mood. Don’t miss this one.

The heart of every book is the character. I found a wonderful article HERE called Write Better Characters by P. S. Hoffman that will help you create unforgettable characters. It’s a long article, but well worth your time.

I don’t see many posts on foreshadowing, but we all have to do it and do it well. HERE is a post from K. M. Weiland on How to Use Foreshadowing.

Checked one more park off my list with the Angels game last weekend. It was a great game, going to extra innings, which is always exciting. The park has a small, intimate feel, much like the “friendly confines of Wrigley Field.” The show Maggie was in, Woody Sings, was at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. What a pretty little town! I will have to go back sometime when I have time to wander around. The show had a lot of fascinating information about Woody Guthrie’s life, and I may get a picture book manuscript out of it. I have a good idea, anyway, and have to do some more research. You never know where a good idea will come from. I won’t be traveling anymore this summer, although baking in Sacramento isn’t fun. It hit a balmy 114 degrees yesterday and will get close to that again today. Ugh. And some people think there’s no such thing as global warming. I did read another adult book while I was traveling and highly recommend it. HORSE by Geraldine Brooks is a spectacular book. It’s told from several points of view of people living in different times that span over 150 years, but Brooks pulls it all together and it is brilliant.

Last time I posted, I offered gently-read hardback copies of FREAK THE MIGHTY and THE BIG DARK by Rodman Philbrick to one of you. The winner this time is Destiny Love Lawyer, a middle-grade teacher in Vermont, who will probably put these two books to good use. I think they would both be great read-alouds for the classroom. Congratulations, Destiny. I will get your books out to you soon.

I love birds. I have a couple feeders on my family room window, and they are busy all the time. I have a little red crossbill that will sit on top of one of the feeders and tap on the window to get my attention if the food gets too low. When I ran across HOW TO LOOK AT A BIRD: OPEN YOUR EYES TO THE JOY OF WATCHING AND KNOWING BIRDS by Clare Walker Leslie on the review list for the Seattle Book Review, I grabbed it. I wish I had this wonderful book when I was young. Isn’t that cover inviting? Here is the review I wrote for SBR.

Birds are everywhere, and birdwatching can be a fun, satisfying hobby for people of all ages. One doesn’t need special equipment to begin. One simply needs eyes and ears and natural curiosity, although if one can get a sketchbook, colored pencils, and a pair of binoculars it will enrich one’s experience. Author and illustrator Clare Walker Leslie shares her journey to becoming a birdwatcher. Identifying birds begins with questions — Where are you? What time of year and day is it? What is the bird doing? Then start looking for markers. How big is the bird? What colors show? What is the shape of the bird, the bird’s beak, the bird’s talons, the bird’s tail? Make a sketch that shows these markers. Don’t worry about making a perfect drawing. A general sketch will do. What sounds does the bird make? Watch the bird fly and see how it moves about. Make notes of all this. Ask questions of other birdwatchers. Check a guidebook or online to see if you can identify the bird. Leslie even includes some sketching lessons and a place to list the birds you see in this handy little book. This is a terrific beginner’s guide.

I have a gently-read paperback copy of this amazing book to give to one of you. All you need to do is be a follower (it’s free and easy — see the top, right corner of the post) with a U. S. Address, and leave a comment. If you share the link to this post on social media, please let me know in your comment, and you will get extra chances. And please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.