A beautiful volume arranged by season highlights a handful of birds that influence the auditory and visual landscape of the calendar year. Elegant watercolor illustrations of scenes and species pair perfectly with the verses, accompanied by side sketches and birding notes jotted in cursive. In “Spring” we witness the contrast of crows against the white blossoms of an apple tree: “blooming apple tree / round and white as one peeled fruit / crow-seeds at its core.” The conclusion offers “Notes for Birdwatchers and Haiku Lovers”—assorted details about the twenty-four birds featured, including their identifying songs and calls. (Ages 8–14)

A joyful primer on the pleasures of bird-watching merges haiku, notes for identifying species, and exquisite watercolor illustrations.

In spare and graceful words, poet and birder Michael J. Rosen captures
the forecasting call of the mysterious cuckoo as well as essential characteristics of more than twenty commonly seen North American birds. This artfully compiled fi eld notebook — enriched by the evocative artwork of watercolorist Stan Fellows — captures the excitement of recognizing a bird, whether a darting kingfi sher, a wandering wild turkey, or a chirpy house sparrow.