Wren's Nest - by Heidi Stemple (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Wren's Nest is an intergenerational picture book about love, birds, and new life from author Heidi Stemple and illustrator Eugenia Nobati.

When Wren was born, Grandpa put a wren box just outside the window of her tiny room. When she was a baby, the wrens sang her to sleep. Each spring, Wren and Grandpa watched the birds bringing sticks and grasses to the box and listened when the babies squealed for their dinner.

When Wren's family moves to the city, she misses birdwatching in the meadow. Their new home has an extra bedroom, but the only birds she can see are pigeons. Lots of pigeons. But when Wren and her grandpa discover a phoebe nest in the rafters above their porch, they get a front-row seat to the miracle of new life--both in nature and in their own home.

With ecological backmatter about what to do if you find a bird's nest and other birdwatching resources, this gorgeously illustrated picture book explores the sweet relationship between grandfather and granddaughter, as well as the anticipation of a new arrival.

Review Quotes

Since she was born, Wren has always loved birds, especially the wrens, who always sang to her to sleep every night. With her cat Sammy and her grandpa, Wren watches the birds make homes outside her window each spring. With her grandpa, Wren goes sightseeing, but suddenly, her family moves into the city. But in the rafters of her new home, Wren sees a family of phoebes and knows her days with the birds are far from over. Short and cute, this picture book delves into the lives of birds and one girl's love for all of them. Wren grows into her own and shows her new sibling the beauty of birds. Beautiful golds and greens color the pages of this enjoyable picture book. With the tips and tricks in the back of the book that teach about nurturing and loving birds, this book is for any science or bird fanatic.-- "Children's Literature" (4/9/2024 12:00:00 AM)

This is a lovely intergenerational tale of a caring grandfather and his granddaughter who both love to learn about the world around them. They've been watching birds together ever since she was a baby. But change is inevitable and they soon have to find a new way to replace the old. Hope you'll check out this well written story with great back matter and gorgeous illustrations!--Marcia Strykowski (7/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Heidi Stemple didn't want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn't until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published more than thirty-five books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children. Heidi lives and writes on a big old farm in Massachusetts that she shares with one very large cat who lives inside, a dozen deer, a family of bears, three coyotes, two bobcats, a gray fox, tons of birds, and some very fat groundhogs who live outside. Once a year she calls owls for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.