The Little Book of Backyard Bird Songs - by Andrea Pinnington & Caz Buckingham (Mixed Media Product)

About the Book

Hear the songs and learn about 12 of North America's most common garden birds.

Book Synopsis

"It's the sort of book which children have to plead with the adults to let them have a look at. Everything about it is superb. Highly recommended."
-- The Bookbag.co.uk

Being able to identify a bird's song is a skill that brings joy and fosters an appreciation of nature. Learning how to differentiate between the songs of a house finch and a goldfinch, however, is not easy. That is where this enchanting book comes into its own. It features recordings of twelve bird songs from some of the best-known garden bird species seen and heard across North America.

This is an interactive board book designed for any age with features for young readers. The board pages are easy to turn. The twelve song buttons are easy to activate and each bears a portrait of the singing bird. The high-quality sound module is encased in durable plastic, and the one-inch (3 cm) speaker makes it easy to hear and differentiate the elements of a bird's song, like pitch, tempo, whistles, trills and buzzes.

All twelve birds have winter or summer ranges in the United States and Canada. This means that readers are sure to see most if not all the birds.

The song birds are:

• House Wren
• Red-winged Blackbird
• House Finch
• Great Horned Owl
• Blue Jay
• Northern Cardinal
• American Crow
• Song Sparrow
• American Goldfinch
• Killdeer
• American Robin
• Mourning Dove.

This charming book is a fun (and potentially addictive) way for all ages to delight in nature's winged singers. It's a winning gift for any occasion, from a child's birthday to a hostess gift.

Review Quotes

A "trilling" way to bring natural history into the nursery.-- "Kirkus" (9/16/2016 12:00:00 AM)

These sounds are peaceful and pleasant. They are interesting and beautiful. Each bird has it's own page with facts about it and a very detailed illustration of what it looks like. These are great for toting along in the car or for finding kids "reading" by themselves.--Michelle "The Book Report Blog" (5/21/2019 12:00:00 AM)

Here's a book that will help the young bird lover to identify some of the most common North American birds by both sight and sound... The authors provide a short description of where each bird can be found, along with basic details about their food, nests, eggs, size and behaviour. By pushing buttons on the front cover, the birds' calls come through a built-in speaker, thus enabling listeners to recognize distinct calls... This book would be useful for young, beginning birders.--Veronica Uzielli "Green Teacher Magazine" (6/1/2018 12:00:00 AM)

I LOVE birds! Which is why I did a little happy dance when these books from Firefly Books arrived in the mail recently. I suppose that technically these are children's books (the suggested age range is 5-9), but these are truly perfect for adults like me. Gorgeous lifelike illustrations, sturdy pages, simple and interesting facts plus the buttons to push and hear actual birdsong -- I adore these field guides.--Becky Porter "Becky's Bookshelf" (3/21/2019 12:00:00 AM)

The colors and detailed designs in each illustration are just lovely... The sounds are exactly like the birds and what's best is these are ones you find right outside your door!--Natosha Miller "Test Try Results Blog" (7/12/2016 12:00:00 AM)

The Little Book of Backyard Bird Songs is one of the very few items with a battery that I like for young children. It's an inviting way for children to learn to identify a variety of bird songs. Not only is there a clear image and description of each bird but the book includes each bird's scientific name, where found, what it feeds on, its nest, its eggs, adult characteristics, and length. Of course, the best part is the set of buttons with a bird-head button that plays each bird's unique song... The book is very cool! My grandkids all loved The Little Book of Backyard Bird Songs so much.--Deb Chitwood "Living Montessori Now" (3/23/2019 12:00:00 AM)

What sets The Little Book of Backyard Bird Songs apart from other introductory bird identification books is the last word in its title. The authors recognize that we frequently hear birds before we actually see them, and so the book links the auditory with the visual. Bound with this sturdy board book and encased in durable plastic is a sound module having 12 song buttons, one for each of the book's birds. Pressing the button bearing the portrait of the bird being read about activates the common sound that particular bird makes. The one-inch (3-cm) speaker actually provides excellent sound quality (and a battery is included). The Little Book of Backyard Bird Songs is an excellent home purchase, but it should certainly also be considered by those libraries and classrooms that are willing to accept some bird sounds. Highly Recommended.--Dave Jenkinson "CM: Canadian Review of Materials" (3/8/2019 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington are the founders of Fine Feather Press, which promotes a love of nature in children from an early age. With this book they hope to inspire a new generation of bird lovers and solve many family arguments at the same time. They live near Farnham, UK.