Nonfiction Monday: Every Day Birds by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrated by Dylan Metrano

A simple poem introduces the reader (and listener) to twenty common North American birds; chickadee, robin, owl, heron, crow, pigeon, eagle, gull, woodpecker, and more. Each bird has a single line and full-page illustration, "Hawk hunts every day for prey./Cardinal flashes fire./Woodpecker taps hollow trees./Crow rests on a wire."

The back matter includes the full text of the poem and individual thumbnails of each bird with additional information. There is also a small list of further resources (some generic bird guides and websites) on the cataloging information page.

The cut paper illustrations are intriguing - they are very stylized and formal, but still make the birds easily identifiable. They remind me a little of Susan Stockdale or Charley Harper's bold colors and formal lines, but they're more like stained glass in effect.

Verdict: While I'm not personally a big fan of rhyming books, I can see many uses for this title. It would make a great read-aloud in toddler storytime, since it's short and simple. It could inspire an art program, creating birds out of tissue paper or other collage materials or even doing a stained glass program for older kids. It would be a great title to include in a birdwatching kit for younger kids as well. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780545699808; Published 2016 by Orchard/Scholastic; Borrowed from another library in my consortium