Everything You Need to Know About Birds

March 1, 2016
Grades 3-6 Although it may be difficult to live up to such an ambitious title, this DK-Smithsonian collaboration makes a valiant, thorough attempt. Every bit of this book is filled with bird facts and photographs, from the very beginning of the book where readers learn that there are more than 10,600 different species in the bird family, to the glossary and index at the end which features a time line of a kookaburra's growth. Each page is engaging, whether it's about what the inside of an egg looks like, or how a bird flies (or doesn't!), or why certain birds' bills are shaped the way they are. Each double-page spread is packed with photos, maps, diagrams, and even some infographic-style layouts, which nicely encapsulate concepts. There is plenty of information in the text, helped along by the accessible, descriptive style. Though there's no discernible order nor any additional resource lists, those minor downsides can be overlooked for the many positives here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)