A Hummingbird in My House: The Story of Squeak

by Arnette Heidcamp

Anyone who has fallen under the spell of the hummingbird will treasure this lovable true story of a young ruby-throated hummingbird who becomes part of someone's household and life. 57 full-color photographs; 10 black-and-white drawings.

Genres: Birds, Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Biography

128 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 1991

Reviews

[Naturegirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love hummingbirds, I mean, I really love them. I look for them every spring, wait expectantly, and get all giddy when the first one shows up at my feeder. This book is the story of a winter spent with a hummingbird who otherwise would have died in the cold. Arnette rescues the little guy and happens to have the perfect sunroom in her house to keep him. The reader takes the joyous little journey with her as she raises this bird, keeps him warm, fed, and bathed, and eventually prepares for his release in the spring. The story is so heartwarming and rather bittersweet at the end when the little bird leaves and isn't seen around the garden again, but ultimately, what a happy little tale.

[Red Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library today, noticing it in a display of bird books. It struck a chord with me because many years ago I saw a ruby-throated hummingbird drinking nectar from a pineapple sage plant in my backyard on Long Island, really close to Thanksgiving! I was so worried about it; I figured it was so late in the season and that it might not make it to its wintering grounds. Of course I will never know how it fared.

I stopped reading in the middle of the book to fill the feeder with nectar - I'd let it run dry - I want to help all the hummers fatten up for their migration (I'm in Virginia now).

What a sweet story this was. And the photos are gorgeous.

[Nona Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This very short book contained interesting information and was a very quick read, but I was distracted while reading it as the author slipped into awkward paragraphs in passive voice. It is professionally published and I wondered why her editor failed request corrections.

The book contains a number of lovely photos and it included charming stories about the author's personal interactions with this attractive little bird.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

2018 - 3 stars

2021
This summer we've had a lot of visitors to our hummingbird feeder, so I thought I'd reread this. I enjoyed it once again but realized the thing that keeps me from giving it a higher rating is that the writing is quite technical and clinical. Instead of reading like a joyous experience it reads more like a text book, informative but distant.
3 stars

[Jacque Mgebroff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hummingbirds are fascinating little things. So very small but also very tough birds. A Hummingbird in My House is a story about the winter Arnette Heidcamp rescued a baby hummingbird that was left behind during migration. The book is packed with information on these little guys. For example, they seem easy to train, they aren't particularly afraid of human beings or hawks, they eat hundreds of pounds of bugs a day. The story takes the reader on a straight route from point A to point B. Amen. Why did I only rate it 3 stars? For me it was too straightforward. It reads almost like a textbook. While there's nothing specifically wrong with the story, the writing is very dry. But again, there's a bunch of hummingbird info here. The book is only 116 pages long. It's printed on beautiful clay paper and has many close-up photographs taken by the author. I'm using it as a small coffee table book.

[Dorothy Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet little book with many color pictures of a hummingbird that spent the winter inside a woman's house. I enjoyed reading it and learned some things about hummingbirds and developing a relationship with one juvenile. Arnette Heidcamp is essentially a photographer of hummingbirds and she knows what she is trying to show. The pictures are small, and I often could not really see what she was attempting to present. Sometimes I did not understand her technical language. Ultimately, this is a nice book, a good book, that could have been a real winner if the pictures were larger and the author took into account that many people who might pick up this little book do not have technical language to understand everything about the body parts of the bird--or the flowers upon which it feeds. A little explanation would have helped.

[Ann Amadori · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the two books about Arnie the starling, I was interested to read about this hummingbird that the author "rescued" for the winter. She made detailed observations about his behavior. I found it interesting but more clinical than the Arnie books, although Squeak seemed to develop a definite personality as she got to know him.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 10 year old loved this as a read aloud for our homeschool. I found the first half difficult, as the author liked to use scientific names for all her house plants so I had to stop reading and sound out the words multiple times in my head before saying them. It made for a choppy reading experience. Overall, a sweet story.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about hummingbirds from reading this book but found the writing style was similar to that of a textbook. 

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rate this five stars, but I should note that this is a largely idiosyncratic choice. The author is a brilliant photographer; however, what comes across in this slim book is a story that she deeply wanted to tell, the story of a tiny bird who came into her life for a handful of months, and then departed, but who left an enormous impact on the author's heart. I believe in these kinds of stories, and they touch a soft spot deep inside me; I loved the moments I spent with Arnette and little Squeak.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures are lovely enough to almost make up for the mediocre writing. Hummingbird pictures always amaze me, particularly when they capture the iridescent quality of their colors. So...just look at the pictures. It's enough.

[Pamela Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet story of a young male Hummingbird who stayed long past migration and the woman who learned how to take care of him.

[Caryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about hummingbirds. It was a happy book about a woman who took in a young hummingbird over a winter. I could never have devoted so much but it was uplifting.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned alot about hummingbirds that I didn't know. Delightful story.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful little book and a must-read if you have even the slightest interest in hummingbirds. The photographs alone are worth picking this book up.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing story of interrelationship between human and a hummingbird named Squeak. Beautiful photographs and adorable drawings by the author show Squeak in his various attitudes and habits. Caring for this creature's survival all winter demanded much effort and nearly constant attention. The author makes detailed observations about this particular hummingbird who lived in her sun room the winter of 1988. Her study of Squeak and other of his kin who visited her garden in New York surely advances the general knowledge about hummingbirds.

The author takes notice of the habits and preferences of this ruby-throated hummingbird, one of the smallest and most energetic of all birds. I learned that hummingbirds are curious-- Squeak observes author Heidcamp while she is observing him. Squeak has favorite perches and favorite areas of the room for special times of the day and particular needs. He enjoys baths and showers, spends a lot of time preening and resting on a favorite branch. I learned that hummingbirds do not necessarily go into torpor (a form of hibernation) while they sleep, but only when the weather drops below a certain temperature. Otherwise, they have enough stored energy to last while sleeping. And they store food in their crop, sometimes gulping it while sleeping.

The little hummingbird with a feather cowlick on his back endears himself to the author; deciding whether to release Squeak the following spring is a heartbreaking challenge. She wants a lasting bond with this feathered fellow, and the hope of his return is there.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Hummingbird in My House: The Story of Squeak by Arnette Heidcamp was a cute little story of one winter when the author helped a juvenile hummingbird who was not quite ready to migrate (he hadn’t fattened up enough) winter over in her greenhouse. The book includes many interesting facts and observations about Squeak and several other types of hummingbirds. I would have liked it if the author had waited until the next season to write the book and thus update readers on whether or not Squeak survived his first migration to return to her garden.

[Nic · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up thinking it would be a cute read with lots of beautiful hummingbird photos. Not so much. The writing is terrible. The author jumps from one topic to another with no segue and repeats a lot of information. She can't seem to decide whether to make this a guide to hummingbird behavior or a cutesy tale of her experience as a hostess to a Ruby-throated guest. It might have worked as one or the other, but it did not work as a poor attempt at both. I also found her behavior to be questionable and not in the best interest of the bird, especially towards the end.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked A Hummingbird in My House: The Story of Squeak by Arnette Heidcamp. It was a little book full of stories about Heidcamp’s experience wintering a hummingbird in her house. There was a lot of information about daily life with a hummingbird and cute pictures of Squeak. It was easy to read, more a memoir than a scientific journal. I’m definitely going to look into Heidcamp’s other books about birds. A Hummingbird in My House: The Story of Squeak was the perfect book to read while waiting for hummingbirds to arrive this spring.

[Katherine Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mom had several books that I've decided to read. As hummingbirds were her favorite critters, I knew I should start with this one. I learned a lot about hummingbirds as a result. Who knew they could eat bugs? Tiny ones, but still.

And the author was very sensible in her approach to providing for this little buddy who surely would have struggled had she not helped him out. I'm gonna send this book to my grand nieces and nephews because it is a deep dive into interesting tiny dinosaurs.

[Corri Teal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

This was an excellent book for hummingbird lovers or just those curious about them. Many of us feed them in our backyard. We enjoy their curiosity and their acrobatic displays. This was a great book to see their behavior and daily habits in detail. The pictures were also great. Definitely a must read for any hummingbird fans.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this little book, although like others have pointed out, it was in part more like a text book. I didn’t need all the technical names for the plants, and his feathers. Without looking each name up, I just guessed which ones she was talking about. The pictures were beautiful, although small. Altogether a quick, interesting read.

[LoriO · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone left this small sweet informative book in my Little Free Library, and I couldn't resist pulling it out to read for myself. (I will now put it back in my library ... or maybe put it in one of the other LFLs I frequent in my neighborhood!) Photos and a ton of information about the details of hummingbird behavior, delivered straightforwardly.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, very short, sometimes charming story of a hummingbird-obsessed woman, who takes advantage of an opportunity to keep an hummingbird in her upstate New York house for a winter, with some nice, but much too small photos.

[Marylou Hobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe a bit more technical info on Hummingbird that absolutely necessary, but the story of Squeak’s winter in the author’s sunroom was both interesting and charming. The numerous photos were excellent. I was glad that the ending was not sugar-coated and Squeak was released to go his own way.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Squeak was so lovely that I could not put it down. Engaging and enchanting and full of details of this lovely little hummingbird who overwintered in this good samaritan’s sunroom. Loved it!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this little book. I learned a lot about hummingbirds and especially enjoyed seeing all the fabulous pictures of Squeak. I plan to read the other books by this author.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an informative tale! I learned many new things about hummingbirds, like that they have to eat insects for protein and they don't just live on nectar from plants and feeders. I now know why our resident hummingbird was so mad at me when I removed a bug infested tomato plant from the garden last year, it was a great food source for him! The whole story is really sweet and I recommend it over any other books for hummingbird info, especially if you plan to install a hummingbird garden.

[Coolkid97 · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love hummingbirds now

[Nancy Shaner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting that a Hummingbird can live in someone's house for the winter. Cute.