The Secret Life of Birds

Speedy the Swift takes the reader on a learning experience of what makes birds who they are through the brilliantly colored illustrations of illustrator Vivian Mineker Chen. I don't know if it was the author or illustrator who came up with the creative format that appealed to this grandma, son, and a fifth grader, but it's a real winner! The text is appropriate for reading WITH another, by a reader, and even ESL. Excellent for gifting and to donate to the local public library! Loved it!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Quarto Publishing Group/Frances Lincoln Children's Books/Happy Yak via NetGalley. Thank you!

This book is not only beautiful designed but it’s so educational. My son and I read it and he loved learning about birds! I love books like this. Highly recommend!

This is a Non-Fiction Children's book that I read to my twin boys. I really loved the information that was in this book. I loved all the bird pictures that were in this book. My boys really enjoyed this book so much. I have a ton of song birds that are all around my house, and I have a lot of bird feeders. I love seeing all the birds, and I love learning more about the birds. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Happy Yak) or author (Moira Butterfield) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that. This book is scheduled to be released on May 31-2022.

This book is kind of a hybrid fiction meets non-fiction. There are pages worth of interesting information about a wide variety of birds and their adaptations or special qualities such as migration, feathers and beak shape, as well as a number of folk tales about birds. The book ends with a page about how to be kind to birds in your community.

There is quite a bit of text on a page, usually in short paragraphs spread throughout the page with pictures interspersed. The pictures are colourful and detailed, and definitely add to the context and comprehension of the book. The font is fairly small and the content of the text is written at a higher reading level. There are also bolded words which I would expect to find in a glossary but there was not one that I could see.

As a Grade 3 teacher I could definitely see this book in my classroom library, and being used as a resource for research or information related to study of animals and adaptations in science. I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 5-10 range, to be read mainly with support or in shared reading contexts. Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

What a fun way to learn about different birds!!

In the Secret Life of Birds our guide Speedy the Swift shows us the differences between many species of birds. Through the colorful illustrations we are transported to many different lands and times to explore the different species of birds and how they each differ from one another. There are legends and tales from other countries included to tell the history of why some birds came to be the way that they are today. The Illustrations are colorful and adorable, evoking memories of the fairy tales of my youth.

If you are a bird lover, you are certain to enjoy this sweet compendium of bird information, music and fun!

Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & Quarto Publishing Group.

The Secret Life of Birds was a fantastic read! I absolutely enjoy watching birds and this book was filled with educational information all about birds. Some I didn't realize! Great information for everyone that learn more about birds. Highly recommend!!

The Secret Life of Birds was a really thorough, interesting read, filled with lots of bird facts! The illustrations really helped the facts come alive, from how birds fly, how feathers work, bird sounds, and migration. I also really enjoyed the different "bird tales" from around the world. This is a great book to not only learn about birds, but how to notice them and take more of an invested view of the world around us.

This book is really beautiful inside out!
Informative and educational for young readers but it's done so well with eye-catching cover and illustrations. The content is so well presented. It's full of information but it doesn't read like a textbook for kids.

Absolutely recommending this book!

Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group- Frances Lincoln Children's Books, for the advance review copy.

This book is so cheerfully and invitingly illustrated. Inside these colorful pages are folk tales, as for example, “Why the Kiwi Can’t Fly” and “Birds in Balloons,” a tale from France. There are also sections on everything from “Fabulous Feathers,” to “Brilliant Beaks,” to “Birds of the Night,” and more.

Begin with the short “Dear reader” section and then dip into this book in any order. Speedy, the Swift accompanies readers through these pages, beginning with his birth.

I found this book to be very appealing. It would make a perfect gift for a nature loving child.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

An amazing educational book that draws the child in and keeps them interested. Being able to relate the information to a specific bird makes it much more relatable then just stating the information. The art is bright and draws your attention to every detail. The Stories are just the cherry on top in a very nicely done book. The book is being pre ordered after I write this! 5 stars

The Secret Life of Birds begins with the story of Speedy the Swift but it is so much more. Speedy the swift takes you to the sky and teaches you about many beautiful birds and what makes them different and unique, and how their traits help them exist and adapt to where they live. My favorite parts are the bird tales from different countries worldwide and the great tidbits of facts and illustrations of the different species of birds.

Wow, this is a really useful and educational book for children, about birds. My daughter and I loved the book, and we learned a lot from it. I am an avid bird feeder and bird watcher, so I was really excited about this book.

The book is full of a lot of comprehensive knowledge and information about birds, told by Speedy the Swift, a little blue bird. There are also beautiful bird stories throughout the book, which are just lovely.

The images in the book are stunning! They are bright, colourful, and beautifully drawn.

I highly recommend this wonderful book, not just for children, but for adults too!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing, informational, and beautiful book for all the small avian lovers. With bold and colorful information and plenty of categorized pages of bite sized information, this book is great for using over time for a unit study or a nightly reading, to make the fun last. Throughout the informational tidbits about the various birds of the world are stories of birds from different cultures as well, adding to the whimsy that flies in the skies above us.

This book has so much great information and stories about birds. The illustrations are gorgeous! I’d recommend this book for children who want to learn more about birds.

Absolutely loved this book and will be buying a copy when it comes out. The book covers a variety of interesting facts about all aspects of birds (what they're like after hatching, how feathers work, how different birds have evolved to survive in various climates, why there are different beak shapes, where certain birds like to nest, how and when some birds travel, and what we can do to help stop the disappearance of many bird species due to climate change). It also includes several bird tales from other countries, such as ""How the Peacock Got His Colors" from India, "Why the Kiwi Can't Fly" from New Zealand, and "The Wise Owl of Athens" from Greece. The artwork is beautiful, engaging, and informative. I would definitely recommend this book for any child (or adult!) that has an interest in nature and/or birds.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the ARC for review.

The Secret Life of Birds is a wonderfully detailed and beautifully illustrated book of bird facts and folklore, narrated by Speedy the swift. Speedy takes the reader on a world-wide journey where we learn some fascinating and unusual facts about all sorts of different birds. I learned lots of new and surprising things, including the fact that hummingbirds can fly backwards and swifts can sleep while they fly! I love how the author combines fiction and non-fiction by interspersing the factual narrative with a variety of colourful bird tales. The illustrations are bright and cheerful and I found myself smiling the whole way through this book. The Secret Life of Birds is a perfect read for any nature-loving kids, and could also be easily used as the basis for an extended unit on birds in a primary classroom.

A big thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group-Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the advance review copy.

Blog review to come on release day.

'The Secret Life of Birds' is a fabulous introduction to birds for kids! You can read this to younger kids, with older kids, or some will enjoy it all on their own. The layout is unique to this type of book it is a mix of stories and facts. There are several short stories about specific birds relating to their lore or history. Interspersed are pages with facts about plumage, beaks, and so on that you might expect to find in a bird book for kids. On top of all that the artwork is lively and engaging. The book is great!

WHO SHOULD READ IT: This book for kids is unique in that there is something for all ages. Pre-K will enjoy being read the stories and looking at the illustrations. Older kids can really learn from the facts and use it as a reference. It is a perfect addition to a homeschool morning basket or unit study on birds.

Thank you @Netgalley and @quarto.knows for early access to this ARC in return for an unbiased and voluntary review

What a beautiful book! The information is well chosen and explained in simple terms for children, accompanied by many colourful illustrations to make this book captivating. It includes some tales from different cultures around the world, making the birds feel very alive and giving this book a good balance between narrative fiction and information.

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the ARC opportunity.

Wow! Such a beautiful and incredible book for children and adults! There was so much information and the illustrations were stunning! I loved the ebook, but I will have to get my hands on an actual copy.

100% recommending this book!
Look for it on July 5, 2022!

Thank you to NetGalley, and Quarto Publishing Group- Frances Lincoln Children's Books, for the arc

Very beautifully illustrated and full of wonderful facts and information! This book is sure to catch the eye of any child and would be a great addition in a classroom!

Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for the ARC of this book!

My children (6 and 9) really enjoyed this as our science lesson today. The illustrations were lovely, the text easy to understand and a comfortable amount for a read aloud, and there was a mix of facts we knew and ones we didn’t. I liked the mix of facts and folklore stories, though it confused my children a little bit because it was hard to separate that most of the book is completely true things and some is not.