The Day I Became A Bird

What will a boy do for love? The day he starts school, a young boy falls in love for the very first time. He’s so in love, in fact, that Sylvia is all he can see. But Sylvia doesn’t see him. Sylvia has eyes only for birds. So in a bold gesture to get her attention, the boy goes to school dressed up as a bird. It isn’t easy, but he doesn’t care. When your heart takes flight, playing it safe is for the birds!

"The day he starts school, a young boy falls in love for the very first time. Sylvia sits in front of him at school, and he's so in love with her, she's all he can see. But sadly, Sylvia doesn't see him. In fact, it seems the only thing Sylvia has eyes for is birds. ?There are birds on her pants and dresses. She wears bird barrettes in her hair. She draws birds on her notebooks and folders. And when she speaks, her voice sounds like birdsong.? So in a bold attempt to get Sylvia's attention, the boy decides to go to school dressed up as a bird. He endures the stares and giggles of his classmates, and a great deal of discomfort, but the boy doesn't care. Because when it comes to love, sometimes you have no choice but to follow your heart and spread your wings."--Amazon website.

'Perfect for dipping into, beautifully written, and great to look at.' – Birdwatching 'An ideal reference book for fledgling ornithologists.' – The Field The beauty and fascination of birds is unrivalled. Every day of the year, immerse yourself in their world with an entry from A Bird of Day, where Dominic Couzens offers an insight into everything from the humble Robin to Emperor Penguins, who are in the midst of Arctic storms protecting their young on 1 July. Or discover the fate of the Passenger Pigeon which became extinct through overhunting on 1 September 2014. If you ever visit the Himalayan uplands, go in late November when you can see a flock of the cobalt blue Grandala birds, which is one of the wonders of the natural world. The author is a world expert on birds and particularly bird behaviour and he reveals endless fascinating stories of birds from all over the globe to give a rich tapestry of avian life with stunning photography, illustration and arresting art. All of bird life is covered, from nesting, migration, and courting to birdsong and curious bird behaviour. From the promiscuous Fairywren of Australia, who gives petals to his mistresses, to the singing instructions of the female Northern Cardinal in North America, this is a delightful dip-in-and-out book for any nature lover.

In this dazzling photo essay, Laman and Scholes present gorgeous full-color photographs of all 39 species of the Birds of Paradise that highlight their unique and extraordinary plumage and mating behavior.

The bird book for birders and nonbirders alike that will excite and inspire by providing a new and deeper understanding of what common, mostly backyard, birds are doing—and why: "Can birds smell?"; "Is this the same cardinal that was at my feeder last year?"; "Do robins 'hear' worms?" "The book's beauty mirrors the beauty of birds it describes so marvelously." —NPR In What It's Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author. While its focus is on familiar backyard birds—blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees—it also examines certain species that can be fairly easily observed, such as the seashore-dwelling Atlantic puffin. David Sibley's exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. (For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized.) And while the text is aimed at adults—including fascinating new scientific research on the myriad ways birds have adapted to environmental changes—it is nontechnical, making it the perfect occasion for parents and grandparents to share their love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action. Unlike any other book he has written, What It's Like to Be a Bird is poised to bring a whole new audience to David Sibley's world of birds.

"A Tongva creation story of Catalina Island and how the black-crowned night heron came to be"--

Entrenched secrets, mysterious spirits, and an astonishing friendship weave together in this extraordinary and haunting debut that School Library Journal calls “a powerful story about loss and moving on.” Nothing matters. Only Bird matters. And he flew away. Jewel never knew her brother Bird, but all her life she has lived in his shadow. Her parents blame Grandpa for the tragedy of their family’s past: they say that Grandpa attracted a malevolent spirit—a duppy—into their home. Grandpa hasn’t spoken a word since. Now Jewel is twelve, and she lives in a house full of secrets and impenetrable silence. Jewel is sure that no one will ever love her like they loved Bird, until the night that she meets a mysterious boy in a tree. Grandpa is convinced that the boy is a duppy, but Jewel knows that he is something more. And that maybe—just maybe—the time has come to break through the stagnant silence of the past.

Ready to go birding? Quick! Can you think of a bird whose name begins with X? Jerry Pallotta found one, and also birds for Q and Z and all the other letters of the alphabet. But this isn't a simple "A is for Atlantic Puffin" kind of alphabet book. Find out where these birds live, how they survive, and the unique qualities that make them interesting. Full of facts and fun, this book is sure to intrigue children with its array of feathered friends, from the familiar to the exotic. Take a brilliant tour of the bird world.

A spellbinding debut novel about the trailblazing Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad, who defied society's expectations to find her voice and her destiny. "Remember the flight, for the bird is mortal." All through her childhood in Tehran, Forugh Farrokhzad is told that Persian daughters should be quiet and modest. She is taught only to obey, but she always finds ways to rebel, gossiping with her sister among the fragrant roses of her mother's walled garden, venturing to the forbidden rooftop to roughhouse with her three brothers, writing poems to impress her strict, disapproving father, and sneaking out to flirt with a teenage paramour over café glacé. During the summer of 1950, Forugh's passion for poetry takes flight, and tradition seeks to clip her wings. Forced into a suffocating marriage, Forugh runs away and falls into an affair that fuels her desire to write and to achieve freedom and independence. Forugh's poems are considered both scandalous and brilliant; she is heralded by some as a national treasure, vilified by others as a demon influenced by the West. She perseveres, finding love with a notorious filmmaker and living by her own rules, at enormous cost. But the power of her writing only grows stronger amid the upheaval of the Iranian revolution. Inspired by Forugh Farrokhzad's verse, letters, films, and interviews, and including original translations of her poems, this haunting novel uses the lens of fiction to capture the tenacity, spirit, and conflicting desires of a brave woman who represents the birth of feminism in Iran, and who continues to inspire generations of women around the world.--Amazon.

The story of a young girl living in the Middle Ages who took the time to observe the life cycle of butteflies--and in so doing disproved a theory that went all the way back to ancient Greece. Includes historical note.