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Nesting: A Stunning Spring Picture Book About Robin Families and Blue Eggs for Kids
Award-winning author-illustrator Henry Cole soars to new heights in this stunning picture book about robins: their homes, their lives, and their families.
In this black-and-white picture book highlighted with robin’s egg blue, the reader will follow two robins as they build a nest with twigs and grass. Then mother robin lays four beautiful blue eggs and will keep the eggs warm in the nest until they hatch into four baby robins.
The father robin protects the babies until they can fly on their own. The perils the babies encounter are many, including snakes and storms. The nest is always their safe place.
Nesting provides introductory biology and animal science concepts for very young children, and also makes a spectacular springtime gift.
Award-winning author-illustrator Henry Cole has re-created the life story of the robin with simple text and stunning artwork. Nesting is the perfect primer for young bird-watchers and nature lovers. The beautiful, intricate black-and-white illustrations are illuminated with lovely washes of blue that breathe life into the artwork.
In this black-and-white picture book highlighted with robin’s egg blue, the reader will follow two robins as they build a nest with twigs and grass. Then mother robin lays four beautiful blue eggs and will keep the eggs warm in the nest until they hatch into four baby robins.
The father robin protects the babies until they can fly on their own. The perils the babies encounter are many, including snakes and storms. The nest is always their safe place.
Nesting provides introductory biology and animal science concepts for very young children, and also makes a spectacular springtime gift.
Award-winning author-illustrator Henry Cole has re-created the life story of the robin with simple text and stunning artwork. Nesting is the perfect primer for young bird-watchers and nature lovers. The beautiful, intricate black-and-white illustrations are illuminated with lovely washes of blue that breathe life into the artwork.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2020
1 person is currently reading
353 people want to read
About the author
Henry Cole
255 books167 followersHenry Cole was a celebrated science teacher for many years before turning his talents to children's books. He has worked on nearly one hundred and fifty books for children, including Nesting, Unspoken, Big Bug, A Nest for Celeste, Jack's Garden, and On Meadowview Street. Henry loves being outside where he can sketch and write.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews
May 3, 2020
This book explores the life cycle of robins. It is filled with detailed pencil drawings in black and white of birds and nests. There is a page of frames showing robins flying worms to their babies and we see the wings. It’s stunning work. The bird eggs are in brilliant color. That baby blue jumps off the page and feels so precious.
This isn’t so much a story as a simple tale of how birds build a nest, raise their young and then it starts over again. It’s a great book for beginning readers who are curious about baby robins. The book is filled with facts and not so much a fiction story.
Nephew thought this was cool and he loved those blue eggs, but he said it was like watching the nature channel, only not as good. Where’s the plot? he asked. He gave this 2 stars and he said the baby chicks were so cute. There you have it. You can’t fault me for trying different types of books with him.
This isn’t so much a story as a simple tale of how birds build a nest, raise their young and then it starts over again. It’s a great book for beginning readers who are curious about baby robins. The book is filled with facts and not so much a fiction story.
Nephew thought this was cool and he loved those blue eggs, but he said it was like watching the nature channel, only not as good. Where’s the plot? he asked. He gave this 2 stars and he said the baby chicks were so cute. There you have it. You can’t fault me for trying different types of books with him.
August 29, 2020
This book is gorgeous! The illustrations are stunning, especially with the pops of blue. And the endpapers--that color is my happy blue. 😍
But...does the snake eat a nestling?! 😭
But...does the snake eat a nestling?! 😭
Read
May 11, 2020This simple book goes through the life cycle of a robin family as birds build their nest, lay eggs, and raise and protect chicks. The illustrations are in black and white except for robin's egg blue highlighting some pages. This one is definitely useful for springtime storytimes and lesson plans.
June 15, 2022
So cute, and beautiful artwork!
April 12, 2020
Richie’s Picks: NESTING by Henry Cole, HarperCollins/Katherine Tegan, March 2020, 40p., ISBN: 978-0-06-288592-0
“Robin in the rain
You don’t mind the weather
Showers always make you gay
But the worms are wishing you would stay at home
Robin on a rainy day”
-- Raffi (1976)
“Day after day, the babies need more food. The parents make many, many trips.
Down below, a snake sees the robins’ nest. The snake is hungry, too, and climbs the apple tree.”
My earliest childhood memories include robins in our backyard apple tree, above the swing. I hope that, wherever you are, the robins are singing somewhere nearby for you.
NESTING by Henry Cole is a stunningly beautiful picture book in which a pair of robins build a nest, hatch four eggs, and raise the babies. It’s all true to nature, making this a valuable science book as well as an entertaining story. There is love, danger, and the excitement of first flights.
The exceptionally detailed black and white micron pen drawings are occasionally highlighted in blue--the robin eggs and touches of sky.
The world has changed in a billion ways since I first experienced robins. It’s comforting to visit my little grandkids and see them fascinated by the robins singing and fluttering in their backyard. This beautiful picture book captures these little creatures in their own world.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
“Robin in the rain
You don’t mind the weather
Showers always make you gay
But the worms are wishing you would stay at home
Robin on a rainy day”
-- Raffi (1976)
“Day after day, the babies need more food. The parents make many, many trips.
Down below, a snake sees the robins’ nest. The snake is hungry, too, and climbs the apple tree.”
My earliest childhood memories include robins in our backyard apple tree, above the swing. I hope that, wherever you are, the robins are singing somewhere nearby for you.
NESTING by Henry Cole is a stunningly beautiful picture book in which a pair of robins build a nest, hatch four eggs, and raise the babies. It’s all true to nature, making this a valuable science book as well as an entertaining story. There is love, danger, and the excitement of first flights.
The exceptionally detailed black and white micron pen drawings are occasionally highlighted in blue--the robin eggs and touches of sky.
The world has changed in a billion ways since I first experienced robins. It’s comforting to visit my little grandkids and see them fascinated by the robins singing and fluttering in their backyard. This beautiful picture book captures these little creatures in their own world.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
Read
February 26, 2024This seemingly innocuous book about bird babies harbors a chilling mystery that I DEMAND the author solves ASAP, because my own conclusions are dark AF.
So mama robin and papa robin build a nest, blah blah there are four eggs which is the perfect number (????), four happy hungry baby birds hatch, yadda yadda.
And then a snake attacks! But the robin parents chase it away, no harm done.
EXCEPT FOR THE REST OF THE BOOK THERE ARE ONLY THREE BABIES.
EXPLAIN, HENRY COLE. Did the snake eat the fourth baby?? Did the fourth baby die of exposure or hunger or whatever weird diseases birds get? Did it get avian flu?
What if the fourth robin baby died of Covid and that's where it came from. This book hatched not just four baby robins but also a worldwide pandemic. Sounds wild but also oddly plausible, hmm?
Anyways, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it until the author tells me otherwise.
So mama robin and papa robin build a nest, blah blah there are four eggs which is the perfect number (????), four happy hungry baby birds hatch, yadda yadda.
And then a snake attacks! But the robin parents chase it away, no harm done.
EXCEPT FOR THE REST OF THE BOOK THERE ARE ONLY THREE BABIES.
EXPLAIN, HENRY COLE. Did the snake eat the fourth baby?? Did the fourth baby die of exposure or hunger or whatever weird diseases birds get? Did it get avian flu?
What if the fourth robin baby died of Covid and that's where it came from. This book hatched not just four baby robins but also a worldwide pandemic. Sounds wild but also oddly plausible, hmm?
Anyways, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it until the author tells me otherwise.
June 18, 2020
Cole gives facts about robins using a fictional robin couple raising four baby robins. The beautiful, realistic illustrations are rendered in black and white with Micron pens; the only color in the book is the blue of the robin eggs and a little blue in the sky. Lovely.
March 13, 2020
A tale of two robins who together build a nest, and care for four baby robins until they are old and strong enough to care for themselves.
June 23, 2020
This is a beautifully-illustrated book about the lifecycle of the familiar American robin. Kids will no doubt look twice at robins in their own parks and neighborhoods after learning about how resilient and dedicated these little birds are in raising a family.
July 18, 2020
Since I got to watch a robin build a nest in the eaves under our deck, hatch eggs, feed her babies and see the babies fly away this spring when working remotely from downstairs, I especially enjoyed this one. Big fan of Henry Cole's illustrations since Unspoken.
August 24, 2020
Two robins make a nest. Four eggs are laid. The baby birds hatch. The parents feed the babies. Off the babies fly. And the nest is abandoned for the winter.
A simple story, told with exquisite beauty. I can't remember when I've ever seen more beautiful yet simple illustrations. And what a cover. Lovely.
A simple story, told with exquisite beauty. I can't remember when I've ever seen more beautiful yet simple illustrations. And what a cover. Lovely.
November 24, 2020
Loved the grey with the bits of blue. Beautiful. And learning about robins was fun too.
September 26, 2022
Absolutely beautiful illustrations. It's one of the few children's books you'll want out on the coffee table. My six year old loves this book, too.
May 1, 2023
Robins come alive with these beautiful drawings. I wish the book was longer and I could learn more about these winged harbingers of spring.
July 1, 2023
This is a lovely springtime story of a robin and his family as they help each other care for first eggs and then baby robins. Cole includes facts about American Robins at the end of the book.
October 15, 2020
Rounded up because of Cole's illustrations (only color Robin egg blue). Follows a male meeting a female, nest building, egg laying, hatching, feeding, protecting, leaving the nest and preparing for winter.
April 28, 2020
An apple tree is home for a lone male robbin who is warbling a warning to his competition and inviting interested females to take a closer look. When a female takes the bait, he and his new mate build a nest and soon they have four beautiful little blue eggs to keep warm and safe. Together, the male and female work hard to gather food for their young and when a snake threatens the nest, mother and father join forces to drive it away. The hatchlings grow and sprout feathers that prepare them to fly. By winter, the apple tree is bare of leaves and the fledgling birds are ready to face the cold with flocks of other birds. The story ends with a few pages of additional scientific facts about one of the most common birds in the United States.
Simple introduction to scientific observation and two tone illustrations combine to form a beautiful experience for the reader. The words set an easy, almost story-like tone that includes the reader in the action but that stays observational in voice and thereby sets an example for future exploratory narrative similar to scientific discourse. A lot less boring than most scientific journals, however. The illustrations resemble large woodcuts done mostly in black ink with subtle and soft blue accents that emphasize the eggs and the sky; symbolizing that this story is about birds and flight and discovery of the natural world, especially the one in the backyard. Hatchmarks add depth and shadow to the ink drawings, adding movement to the illustrations as well. Everyone can enjoy learning from this lovely picture book and it is highly recommended for readers of all ages.
Simple introduction to scientific observation and two tone illustrations combine to form a beautiful experience for the reader. The words set an easy, almost story-like tone that includes the reader in the action but that stays observational in voice and thereby sets an example for future exploratory narrative similar to scientific discourse. A lot less boring than most scientific journals, however. The illustrations resemble large woodcuts done mostly in black ink with subtle and soft blue accents that emphasize the eggs and the sky; symbolizing that this story is about birds and flight and discovery of the natural world, especially the one in the backyard. Hatchmarks add depth and shadow to the ink drawings, adding movement to the illustrations as well. Everyone can enjoy learning from this lovely picture book and it is highly recommended for readers of all ages.
September 24, 2020
Very simple and straight forward book about robins. Nicely illustrated.
October 17, 2022
Lovely illustrations, the text tells us more about how robins live.
March 30, 2022
Gorgeous illustrations! I cannot imagine how long it took for him to illustrate this book with pen. Great book showing the life cycle of robins with just enough text and pictures.
July 30, 2020
Beautiful!
August 7, 2024
5+ stars (6/10 hearts). Oh my heart, what an EXQUISITE book! The drawings are such absolute masterpieces and the text is lyrical and beautifully simple. I can’t believe I never knew about this book before! It’s such a beauty and I look forward to experiencing it many more times.
July 5, 2020
A direct, tender and sometimes blunt look at the life-cycle of the ubiquitous robin.
March 22, 2020
In times of great adversity, the people on this planet tend to seek calm in our natural world. During the current crisis of a pandemic around the world, the arrival of spring in the northern hemisphere is a welcome declaration of hope. Despite what is happening in the human world, nature stays the course. The sighting of a first robin, a sliver of a rainbow or the tips of tulip leaves poking through the dirt send our spirits soaring.
Like spring itself, bursting forth with new life, many March releases in children's literature embrace the wonders of our outdoor environment. Nesting (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, March 3, 2020 written and illustrated by Henry Cole focuses on the annual ritual of robins becoming a pair, building a nest and how the hatched eggs grow and prosper to become part of the flock. A marvelous color palette will fully fascinate readers.
My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...
Like spring itself, bursting forth with new life, many March releases in children's literature embrace the wonders of our outdoor environment. Nesting (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, March 3, 2020 written and illustrated by Henry Cole focuses on the annual ritual of robins becoming a pair, building a nest and how the hatched eggs grow and prosper to become part of the flock. A marvelous color palette will fully fascinate readers.
My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...
March 27, 2020
Fun book and I’m sure the kids will be on the lookout for a nest now! 😊
September 14, 2019
Nesting shows the life cycle of the American Robin, from finding a mate to raising their chicks, growing until spring comes again. A gorgeous book with illustrations reminiscent of Robert McCloskey, the one shining color being a bright and gorgeous robin's egg blue. Highly realistic drawings depict these beautiful birds! Nesting is sure to end up a classic among nature lovers.
December 1, 2019
A simply beautiful book about robins, perfect for spring. I loved the illustrations and the contrasted bright, blue robin eggs. The quick fact in the back about robins makes this book great for school or continuing education with your little reader.
January 30, 2020
A five for illustrations. Pay close attention to where (and what) color is used. A non-fiction story about the life of a robin and its family. Could be a great tie-in for an older classroom science curriculum.
March 14, 2020
Absolutely gorgeous
March 16, 2020
Beautiful wordless book! This is a story that follows a male robin singing to find a mate. Together they build a nest, lay eggs, and raise their vulnerable family through adulthood.
Cole shares additional facts about robins in the author notes.
Cole shares additional facts about robins in the author notes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews