Townsend's Warbler

by Paul Fleischman

An account of the 1834 cross-continental journey of naturalist John Townsend and his many discoveries, including the warbler that bears his name.

Genres: Nature, Science

52 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1992

About the author

Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California. The son of well-known children's novelist Sid Fleischman, Paul was in the unique position of having his famous father's books read out loud to him by the author as they were being written. This experience continued throughout his childhood.
Paul followed in his father's footsteps as an author of books for young readers, and in 1982 he released the book "Graven Images", which was awarded a Newbery Honor citation.
In 1988, Paul Fleischman came out with "Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices", an unusually unique collection of poetry from the perspective of insects. This book was awarded the 1989 John Newbery Medal. Factoring in Sid Fleischman's win of the John Newbery Medal in 1987 for his book "The Whipping Boy", Paul and Sid Fleischman became to this day the only father and son authors to both win the John Newbery Medal.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

More for fans of the adventurers, those who want to read about other people besides Lewis & Clark, than for birders. Rich vocabulary makes history engaging.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at a nature center book sale this morning. It's an interesting story about the naturalists John Townsend and Thomas Nuttall, who join a cross-continent expedition in 1834, spending the next few years finding and studying the plant and animal life they came across in their travelers. The book's title refers to one of these, a bird named for Townsend by Nuttall. This is a brief book, meant for children. It made me want to read more about the men's work, and various expeditions of that period.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this one up at the book sale at my daughter's local library. I had no idea about this expedition to note the birds and plant life of the western part of the new nation. It is an interesting overview of the expedition and its struggles and successes. I was especially intrigued by the different scientific approaches between then and now. I have to think that it would be wonderful if one day someone found Nuttall's waterlogged journal that was swept away!

"Amid such hardships, the behavior of the naturalists must at times have irritated the others. After a day of inching over loose rocks at 10,000 feet, averting their eyes from the cliffs beside them, the men found that they'd followed a dead end and would have to retrace their way. Nuttall, however, was in high spirits: He'd found two new species of aster along the route. For such incomprehensible joy, the men of an earlier expedition had nicknamed him 'the fool'."

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short book for kids about Townsend and his travels coupled with early acknowledgement of bird migration.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this simple history of 1830's naturalists and their trek of discovery along what became the Oregon trail.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delight this little book is! It combines a great adventure story with the joys of discovery.