Brave Baby Hummingbird - by Sy Montgomery (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The story of a hummingbird's early life and how they make their way into the world"--

Book Synopsis

Two starred reviews!

From the beloved New York Times bestselling, Sibert Honor-winning author of the National Book Award finalist The Soul of an Octopus author comes a "beautiful...captivating" (Booklist, starred review) nonfiction picture book about the most exquisite and extraordinary of winged creatures--hummingbirds.

The lightest birds in the sky, hummingbirds are capable of incredible feats, such as flying backwards, diving at speeds of sixty-one miles per hour, and beating their wings more than sixty times a second. The miraculous creatures are also incredibly vulnerable when they first emerge from their eggs. This book tells the story of a hummingbird's early life and how they make their way into the world.

Review Quotes

*Tiny but superstrong and extremely fast, hummingbirds can fly long distances, yet they can also hover in the air. They can fly up, down, sideways, and even upside down. In this beautiful picture book, a hummingbird shares his memories of growing up alongside his older sister, who hatched two days earlier. The two birds, originally the size of bumblebees, hatch from navy bean-sized eggs in a quarter-sized nest. When they feel a breeze, they open their mouths so that their mother can feed them. One day, she does not return, but someone takes them to a bird rehabilitation center, where a caregiver blows on them and feeds them. The younger hummingbird watches his sister take flight and find her own food. Soon both fly free. They migrate and, after returning, find mates. The back matter offers further information about these amazing animals and how people can help them. A naturalist with a gift for helping readers imagine what they may never have touched or even seen, Montgomery writes in ways that immediately bring the birds' qualities into focus, such as, "I am made mostly of air--like a bubble wrapped in feathers." Painted on wood with acrylics, the illustrations are vibrantly colorful and wonderfully detailed. A captivating bird book. --Booklist, starred review "1/1/2024"

An orphaned hummingbird tells his story.

In this addition to a shelf full of successful invitations to wonder at the natural world, Montgomery presents a hummingbird's life from the bird's perspective. She bases her account on the lives of two real-life Allen's hummingbirds, raised by an experienced rehabilitator. An orphaned nestling describes how a rescuer ("The Voice") nurtured him and his sister until they were grown. He describes learning to feed himself nectar and catch fruit flies and moving from perching to actual flying--hovering and flying backward and even upside down! "No other bird can do that," he brags. In the fall, the two birds journey south to Mexico, returning to California in December to raise another generation. Grown hummingbirds, he exults, "rule the sky." The writer has chosen details that are accurate, appropriate, and appealing for the audience. One moment may be confusing for young readers; soon after hatching, the avian narrator says that "every twenty minutes, we wait for the breeze. Food!" It isn't clear from the text that the nestlings are reacting to the breeze from the mother's flapping wings, though on the next spread, we see the shadowy face of the rehabilitator blowing on their basket. While adults may need to add some context, overall, it's an enticing, enlightening tale, featuring gloriously detailed illustrations.

A charming bird's-eye view of one bird's rescue and rehabilitation. (author's note, hummingbird highlights, helping hummingbirds) (Informational picture book. 4-8)--Kirkus Reviews "02/01/2024"

Two baby Allen's hummingbirds, alone in a coin-size nest, thrive with human assistance in an informational rescue story that hints at fledglings' fortitude. Montgomery narrates earnestly from the perspective of a male bird emerging from eggs with his sister, "the size of bumblebees." But when the breeze that suggests their mother's arrival stops, "We are scared, cold, and hungry." The next morning, a human hand cradles the babies, and human lips blow from the page margin, simulating wingbeats. "I'm not a mother hummingbird, but I've spent ten years learning how to help orphans like you," they are told, before moving to a Hummingbird Hotel that affords them safety to test their wings, sip nectar, and eat fruit flies until they're ready to re-enter the wild. As they migrate south and return to their birthplace, meticulous illustrations by Bozic, crisply detailed in acrylic paint on wood, accurately depict the duo across habitats and alongside other hummingbird species. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)--Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW "2/19/2024"

About the Author

Sy Montgomery is a naturalist, adventurer, and author of more than thirty acclaimed books of nonfiction for adults and children, including The Hummingbirds' Gift, The Hawk's Way, the National Book Award finalist The Soul of an Octopus, and most recently, Of Time and Turtles, which was a New York Times bestseller. The recipient of numerous honors, including lifetime achievement awards from the Humane Society and the New England Booksellers Association, she lives in New Hampshire with her husband, writer Howard Mansfield, and a border collie.

Tiffany Bozic is a California artist whose work has been described as John James Audubon on acid. Her work evokes the tradition of tightly rendered nature illustration, which she explodes with playful colors and surreal sensibilities. With her ornithologist husband and school-aged daughter, Bozic spends significant time in wild places. She is the illustrator of picture books Trees and Brave Baby Hummingbird.