Birds: Explore, create, and investigate!

by Mike Unwin, Paulina Morgan

The book is compiled of three different types of Explore, Investigate and Create. Explore pages look at facts and knowledge about birds, teaching children how they fly, why they migrate and more. Investigate pages are activities and experiments which allow children to investigate the anatomy and behaviours of birds further in a hands-on and educational way. Create pages let children stretch their imagination, whether its reading a traditional story about birds or making art out of feathers and shells.
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Childrens

64 pages, Hardcover

Published March 19, 2019

About the author

Mike Unwin is a celebrated wildlife and travel writer known for his books and journalism, and also a photographer, illustrator, and popular speaker.

Reviews

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a virtual encyclopaedia of everything related to birds, all told in a child-friendly way with cute, gentle pictures.
There are facts (the book is full of them!), things to observe (e.g. the way feathers create air resistance) and activities (e.g. decorate a beak mask, make a nest, paint an egg and many others). This book encourages children to be active explorers of nature around them.
An ideal gift for 6-8 year old nature lovers or any child who loves to learn by discovering and doing things.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group/ QEB for theARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book to learn about birds. It is a great introduction to them and covered a wide variety of topics. This is a great book for primary/junior students to learn about baby birds, how birds fly, migration and more. The book includes poems on birds, crafts with a bird theme, bird-related activities and games as well as the information included. The illustrations were beautifully done and attracted the eye of my grandson. Even though he is only 5, he enjoyed this book and we hope to do some of the activities over the summer. This is definitely a great book for school libraries and primary science classrooms. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

[Etienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big melting pot of stuff about birds. We have poems on birds, craft works with birds thematic, activities/games birds related, informations on birds, feathers, and more birdly stuff, and so on. Lot of stuff but just felt a bit like all those were push/drop into the book. If you've kids who are fascinated by birds or just like them a lot that could be a good one. It does collected many things but the organization/edition just seem... like I said, a melting pot...

[Genevieve Trono · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with our kids who are 6 & 8. We love birds and enjoy watching many of our avian neighbors at our backyard feeders. This book was a great introduction to the species and covered a wild variety of topics about birds. Our kids loved learning more about baby birds, how birds fly, migration and more.

The illustrations were beautifully done and were a captivating part of this book for our young readers. We also enjoyed the mix of bird-related activities that were incorporated throughout this book. We have many more dense bird guides that we like to look at and this was a fun mix of both information and activities that were very engaging to read.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley, Quarto Publishing Group - QEB and Mike Unwin for the opportunity to check out this book and provide a review. It is FANTASTIC!!

My almost 2 year old daughter loves watching the birds in our backyard. From Canadian Geese, to Robins, Blue Jays, Woodpeckers and Sparrows - she loves them all!! I used to sit outside with my dad and he would teach me about the birds and I really enjoy doing this with my daughter. This book is PERFECT for kids to introduce them to all different types of birds, where they lives, how they fly and eat and so many other cool things. The illustrations are awesome and definitely help engage with learning. I LOVE the added investigate and create sections that make this not only a learning experience by reading, but a fun, crafting opportunity to get kids engaged in a different way.

I cannot say enough great things about this book. I really enjoyed it and can't wait until my daughter is a little older to be able to read it with me. I'm heading to Amazon to order this right away.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a mom in a family of bird watchers and bird lovers, I really adored this book. It is colorful, creative, informative and fun. It's packed with all kinds of information about all kinds of birds, with crafts, trivia and lessons about everything from bird parts to the functions of feathers to what kinds of birds are found in different parts of the world to how different beaks help birds perform different functions.

An example 2-page spread teaches kids about how different birds fly:

"Up, Up and Away
How birds fly depends on how they live. Some fly fast, some fly slow. Some fly high, some fly low. Some can do amazing things with their wings."

Then there are colorful pictures and blurbs about birds like kestrels, hummingbirds, swifts and vultures showing how they fly related to where and how they live, with a little "Did you know?" box in pink telling the reader that a vulture in Africa has the world record for flying higher than Mt. Everest and flying higher than most airplanes fly.

Crafts, activities, poems and other fun add-ins are also provided.

This would be a fantastic book to keep on a nature table or in an area where kids can pick it up and flip through for facts. It is not really a read-aloud but is well suited for kids to just read through on their own to explore the world of birds.

The artwork is also really beautiful, bright and fun.

This is a book that I am considering purchasing for our own family. The relatively low retail price (around $15 for hard cover, over 60 pages) makes it especially appealing for home libraries.

My rating system:
1 = disliked it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not easy book to read if you want to do so quickly. Only because it is packed full of information and ideas. Things to do and make, adventures to undertake.
If you to give this to a child at the beginning of the long summer holidays they would not finish the book by the time school resumed at the end of August.
Cleverly illustrated with text and illustrations interchanging throughout the pages it doesn’t read like a book at all. No large passages of sentences just snippets and beautifully detailed drawings scattered across each page.
Indeed it is like a comic, more like an annual perhaps but each one of its pages is utilised to the full. In splitting the book further into Explore, Investigate and Create the whole publication coms alive and with each turned page something new awaits to keen mind of your children.
I can not fault the content, it’s presentation or the commitment to detail to inform and educate in a a fun filled practical way.

[Leeya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely kids book filled with a ton interesting information and it’s all about birds. The texts are arranged around the four topics: what is a bird?, bird food, bird life and behavior, enjoying birds. Probably the best feature of this book is its balance between three categories of focus: explore (learning new information), investigate (tips on how to investigate some aspect of bird life yourself), and create (step-by-step instructions for crafts). Every page contains colorful pictures with a cute retro touch instead of photos. But the illustrations are excellent and the birds are easy to recognize. This gives the book a unique and uniform style. I particularly loved that all information was presented in short snippets like fun facts. A really great and fun book!

Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this general look at bird life and crafts for kids. The pictures did not all show up in my e-ARC but I am sure they are great in paper. We meet lots of different birds, learn fascinating facts about everything from eagles to puffins, and get ideas for crafts and games, like an owl mask and making a nest. We're shown how to track birds in the snow and figure what they eat by looking at their beaks.

This would be great for a school nature class, Guides and Scouts or a family fun book. Ages six to ten will get most use but parents will probably learn something new as well (the harpy eagle eats monkeys!) Go for it.

American spelling and some American birds named. I downloaded an ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

[Monique the Book Geek · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Birds: Explore, create, and investigate!" is full of colorful illustrations and contains a ton of engaging bird information, as well as instructions for fun and creative craft activities to get kids involved. This book covers the lives of a wide variety of birds from all over the world, going into their physical characteristics, living environments, flying methods, diet, and so much more! As an avid bird watcher and someone who loves birds, I really enjoyed reading this book and I believe it would make an excellent gift for young nature lovers!

I received this book from NetGalley and the book's publisher in exchange for my honest review, for which I am very grateful.

[The Endless Unread · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is a pretty impressive book that teaches your young ones all about birds by giving facts about them in beautiful and obscure illustrations as well as some activities to get them involved. We all know that this is the best way to get your little ones to learn and this author has certainly achieved that in this terrific book. First-rate work.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was really a neat concept. Not only did it have a lot of information about birds, but it gave you the opportunity to draw, color, decorate too.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had so many fun hands on ideas.

[Chinchilla_clouds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Γλυκό βιβλιαράκι (στα ελληνικά από τις εκδόσεις Μεταίχμιο) με πολλές πληροφορίες και δραστηριότητες και πολύ όμορφη εικονογράφηση - όχι μόνο για παιδιά!

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this alarm from Netgalley for an honest review. This is an excellent about birds for young kids. There’s poetry and lots of information about birds around the world.
Really appreciate the crafts for kids and even including the templates. I will need to buy this book for myself.

[RedRobinXXX · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reviewing this book for Mike Unwin, Quarto Publishing and NetGalley who gave me a copy of their book for an honest review.
Everything kids would want to know about birds - lots of information, poetry, lovely illustrations, craft ideas.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so inviting! The text has an appealing layout and the illustrations are bright and colorful. Children are invited to learn more about nature, specifically birds, through reading, observation and activities. Even as an adult, I learned so much.

There are chapters on everything from "What is a Bird?" to Bird Food, Bird Life and Behavior, to Enjoying Birds. There are lots of fun activities including: make a bird cake, make a winter birdbath, make a bird nest and paint an egg. Young ornithologists can learn about the evolution of birds, their habitats and sounds. This is a great resource that will encourage children to get outside and explore.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a wonderful book that will make my nature walks more inviting. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun, informative, and imaginative book!

Unman and Morgan thoroughly researched and presented this information about birds without it feeling like it would overwhelm a young reader. They also, clearly, understand that children learn in more forms than just words on a page. There are facts, poems, maps, and activities...a perfect way to keep young readers engaged.

I particularly adored how ‘What on Earth’ was arranged. Not only was each page organized under a specific type of learning (Explore, Investigate, & Create), but each section of the book also focused on different aspects of the bird world to dig into.

Presentation and Information-wise, this book is a 5-star. My reason for giving only 4 (and, really, it’s more a 4.5) is personal preference: I wish the drawings of the people were a little less cartoon-y. The birds and their details are beautiful, but then I’m distracted by the people drawings and feel it cheapens the feeling and beauty of the book.

Overall, I highly recommend this book.

Thank You to Quarto Publishing and NetGalley for this digital copy to read and review!