by Simon James
Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2002
24 pp.
Age: 4 +
Interests: birds, nature, grandparents, science
Jess’ grandfather likes to go birdwatching and tells her about all the marvellous things he sees and hears, but when she goes along one day, she doesn’t see anything… at first. With the help of a bird blind she is able to observe all kinds of birds and spends a wonderful afternoon drawing them and taking notes. As they leave she realizes that grandpa may have been exaggerating his stories earlier, so she tells him a tall tale of her own.
Full disclosure: I’m a bird enthusiast myself, so I’m always looking for nice ways to interest my daughter in our fine feathered friends. I came across this book at our library and it does the job nicely. A simple, lovely story of a grandfather taking his granddaughter birdwatching. The first lesson and biggest lesson of course is not to be discouraged when you don’t see anything right away. The second lesson would be that a day in the woods is its own reward. And a leisurely afternoon spent with a favourite relative is a pretty good treat too.
Rarest Kind of Best 