Pretty pictures can't offset text that comes in quantities too excessive for a picture book and in a tone I found too pretentious to endure.

(Another project! I'm trying to read all the picture books and graphic novels on the kids section of NPR's Books We Love 2022.) ( )

Well written and beautifully illustrated with oil paintings by Nancy Lane, this picture book charts the miraculous, almost 4000-mile journey of a little female yellow warbler, from the tropical rain forests and traditional shade coffee farms of Nicaragua, to the Yucatan Peninsula, across the Gulf of Mexico, over the swamps of Florida, the farmlands of central North America, to her final destination on the shores of Great Slave Lake in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Scott Weidensaul describes the sights and sounds—the voices of other birds and of land animals—in the various habitats along the way. With the refrain, “These were just the sounds of the forest. The sounds of home,” the author emphasizes the naturalness of this journey for the migratory bird, her flexibility and adaptability to multiple habitats, and the fact that she has many homes, all of which sustain her on a remarkable flight.

At three points in the narrative, Weidensaul focuses on a young child’s sighting the bird, and learning a little about her. While the book ends with ways the reader can assist migratory birds and includes some useful hyperlinks, brief notes on the the warbler’s anatomy, lifecycle, and diet would have been welcome. Furthermore, attractive as Lane’s paintings are, their colours are occasionally too fluorescent. Several times the little warbler appears to be greenish yellow—too similar in colour to the background to remain distinct. It shouldn’t be hard to spot the main character in a picture book’s illustrations. The bird’s route ought to have been indicated in a bolder, contrasting pigment to to the colours of the map itself. These criticisms aside, this is worthwhile book.

Rating: 3.5 rounded up ( )

birding, naturalist, nature-study, nature-preservation, migration, natural-history, paintings*****

Follow the migratory journey of one Yellow Warbler from Nicaragua at the beginning of winter to the US gulf coast at the beginning of spring to the Great Slave Lake in NWT, Canada, (a journey of 4,000 miles) in breathtaking oils and clear engaging text. The text does not compromise the paintings as it is presented in a sidebar. This book is listed as for children, probably because it is not a dry tome but a delightful learning experience for ALL and includes basic nature preservation info at the end. Read it WITH kidz or just by yourself, but DO NOT SQUIRREL IT AWAY! Get one for your school and local library while you're at it!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book copy from The Gryphon Press, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles via NetGalley. ( )