Noisy Bird Sing-Along

Awards

Reviews

A say-along, sing-along invitation introduces the art of birding by ear through simple, recognizable bird songs and sounds and, mostly, familiar birds.From the “Cheery up? Cheerio!” of the robin to the “tap, tap, tap” of the downy woodpecker, each spread includes a common phonetic description of a bird’s sound (“Oh Sweet Canada”; “Who cooks for you”; “Chick-a-dee-dee-dee”) and where and when the bird might be found. Spare illustrations accurately show the birds and something of their environments: a yellow warbler on a cattail, a mallard in a pond, a house sparrow on a brick wall. Many of the birds are familiar daytime visitors to backyards and parks; young readers are less likely to encounter nocturnal singers like the barred owl, whip-poor-will and woodcock. A few are specifically northern or eastern. The Anna’s hummingbird is only found on the Pacific coast, but its sound and appearance are not too unlike its eastern ruby-throated counterpart. Further information is included in the backmatter, where readers will find a description of the male woodcocks’ dance and the advice to “pinch your nose shut” while imitating the call of the white-breasted nuthatch. There are also suggestions for other birding activities. For fostering nature awareness, this is a welcome companion to the author’s previous titles about noisy bugs and noisy frogs.

— Kirkus Reviews (December 22, 2014)

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Different kinds of birds sing different songs. The sounds, habitats and diets of a few birds are told in simple direct sentences. The contrasting colors used by John Himmelman make each page an individual beauty. Correct details of each habitat and every bird described will provide young readers with things to find and study in each picture for a long time. This entertaining book will also draw teachers and librarians to seek out other books by the same author.

Second grade readers will be able to read the text independently, in many cases, but much younger children will enjoy having it read to them. Older children may use it for science reports or for ideas to use in building dioramas. Children who love to draw or paint might be encouraged to try illustrating things from their own backyard after studying these realistic illustrations.

The sounds included provide teachers, parents and readers an opportunity to practice the literacy skill of onomatopoeia while learning about birds. What fun it would be to have different children assigned to make the call of a particular bird.

This is a good introduction to reading nonfiction books and picking out important details. After reading it, students might write a nonfiction sentence of their own. The activities and facts at the end of the book will encourage and aid young readers to broaden their knowledge of birds and birding. This book will be a great addition to classroom, school, and home libraries for children ages 3 -8.

— Grade Reading – Sue Poduska (February 4, 2015)

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Third volume in a series including bird, bug and frog calls, Noisy Bird Sing-Along introduces specific songs or distinctive sounds made by twelve different species of birds, with the call or sound outlined in contrasting color text against a lifelike full color portrait of the bird in its natural habitat. Thus young readers will learn about the songs or sounds of American Robins, White-throated Sparrows, Yellow Warblers, Barred Owls, Black-capped Chickadees, Eastern Whip-poor-wills, Mallards, American Woodcocks, White-breasted Nuthatches, Anna’s Hummingbirds, House Sparrows, and Downy Woodpeckers. In addition to many fascinating details and facts about each bird, the end of Noisy Bird Sing-Along has suggestions for bird related activities, other resources for young birders, and a list of other nature awareness books from Dawn Publications. Noisy Bird Sing-Along includes an idea for a great game birders can play called “Big Day,” in which the participant tries to identify as many birds as possible seen or heard while sitting for 24 hours in one spot. This fascinating and educational bird observation book is excellent reading for children ages 4-9.

— Midwest Book Review – James Cox (April 2015)

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John Himmelman has followed up on his Noisy Bug Sing-Along and Noisy Frog Sing-Along withNoisy Bird Sing-Along, which introduces us to a dozen different species of birds and the sounds they make. The text is minimal, but the enlarged font size of the spelled-out sounds calls for the readers to make some noise. Take a break from being a mammal and practice being a noisy bird! The last few pages give more detail about each species and offers tips for how to see birds. Additionally, a link is provided for a page on the Dawn Publications website where you can listen to audio files of the actual sounds shared in the book.

— Exploring Portland’s Natural Areas – Michael Barton (March 23, 2015)

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About the book: Every kind of bird has its very own kind of sound! Cheerful sounds, mournful sounds, sweet sounds, weird sounds. You can tell who they are without even opening your eyes. And what fun to sing along!

My thoughts: The colorful pages are a delight, and I love that each page features not only the bird’s sound, but also a fun fact about the bird. (“A whip-poor-will’s wide mouth helps it gulp up insects while it’s flying.”) More fun facts about the birds are located at the end of the book, along with “Birdy Things to Do,” such as “pishing” and “listing”! This book encourages kids to learn more about all of the birds around them.

— Susan Heim on Parenting – Susan Heim, editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul (Feb. 27, 2015)

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Noisy Bird Sing-Along is a great way to encourage the development of a young naturalist. This is a fun book. My children love it. The illustrations are gorgeous and the song is catchy. Love it … Recommended!!!

— An Angels Kiss – Angel (March 2, 2015)

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In the life of every naturalist, there is a book that helped inspire his or her passion for the natural world. Usually this book is read in their childhood years, when the excitement of discovery is fresh. John Himmelman’s Noisy Bird Sing-Along promises to occupy such a niche for future generations of naturalists. It’s fresh, colorful, and has just the right blend of information and fun. Here’s a book sure to give children a head start on a lifelong passion for nature.

— Michael DiGiorgio, described by Bird Watcher’s Digest as ‘a consummate field birder, a keen observer, and a talented artist’ (August 2014)

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Here’s a delightful approach to the varied world of bird song that can be shared by the whole family—young children and their parents or teachers alike. A wonderful addition to a child’s or school’s library, and an excellent addition to Himmelman’s extensive natural history series.

— Noble S. Proctor, PhD, ornithologist (August 2014)

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The Noisy Sing-Along collection by John Himmelman is a wonderful way to connect children with science and nature. Available as both print books, e-books, and apps, you’ll want to get all three for your library.

Designed for pre-K through grade 3, Noisy Bird Sing-along is the latest addition in this nature awareness series. The print book and e-book includes large, colorful illustrations of robins, sparrows, owls, mallards, and more. Colorful text is used to introduce the sound of each bird. In addition to information about the bird and sound, the habits and habitat of each bird is described.

This easy concept book would be an effective way to introduce young children to informational reading. In addition, the text is easy enough for primary grade readers to enjoy independently. The Fun Facts and Things to Do pages are useful for older children, teachers, and parents.

— Annette Lamb, PhD (January 22, 2015)

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Noisy Bird Sing-Along by John Himmelman showcases how every kind of bird has their very own kind of sound – cheerful sounds, mournful sounds, sweet sounds, weird sounds. You can tell who they are without even opening your eyes. And what fun to sing along! John Himmelman knows those sounds well and loves to share his enthusiasm for birds. He explains how to call birds by “pishing,” gives tips on how to attract birds by feeding them, how to make your list of birds, and more.

My kids got the biggest kick out of this book! They were imitating bird calls all day long! Plus, it is very fun to try to identify birds that we see out at our neighbor’s bird-feeder. We are looking forward to identifying more as they come back from down south.

— Your World Natural Blogspot – Cara Nitz (Feb. 18, 2015)

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Noisy Bird Sing-Along by John Himmelman is all about, you guessed it, bird calls. Ranging from the smallest of hummingbirds to barred owls, children are sure to recognize a few of the feathered friends and be introduced to some new ones. As you can imagine, children will learn all sorts of fun and interesting bird calls along the way which can be made even more fun to learn by “singing” along!

Geared towards 3-8 year olds, I thought this was a pretty cute book and age appropriate since that age range will be able to join in on the singing. This would definitely be a fun read-aloud book for a preschool or lower elementary classroom. (Or story time at a library!) I liked that there are fun little facts about the birds included in the story as well. As always, there is even more info on each bird featured in the story at the end to extend the learning as well as resources for bird projects!

— Mixed Bag Mama (January 26, 2015)

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This book is about birds! One of The White Rabbit’s favorite animals to point out. They make so many kinds of sounds, this book helps open a child’s eyes and ears to which bird is which. We checked with our local robins and they really do sing “cheerio.”

Some birds you will encounter include: owls, hummingbirds and woodpeckers. Each of these we see locally, and are able to identify. This book had some really fun sounds to read, one bird per page makes learning about them easier. We really enjoyed reading and learning the bird facts at the end of the story as well. The birds are well illustrated for easy identification. There are some fun activities as well for bird watchers. My son loves watching the local birds and now he’s starting to imitate their sounds!

— The Cheshire Cat’s Looking Glass (February 17, 2015)

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Designed for pre-K through grade 3, Noisy Bird Sing-Along is the latest addition in this nature awareness series. The print book and e-book includes large, colorful illustrations of robins, sparrows, owls, mallards, and more. Colorful text is used to introduce the sound of each bird. In addition to information about the bird and sound, the habits and habitat of each bird is described.

This easy concept book would be an effective way to introduce young children to informational reading. In addition, the text is easy enough for primary grade readers to enjoy independently. The Fun Facts and Things to Do pages are useful for older children, teachers, and parents.

Active listening is an important skill. Getting children involved with identifying creature sounds is an excellent way to develop observational skills using the auditory channel. This book series would be an outstanding addition to an elementary school library collection.

— Amazon.com (Customer Review) – Annette Lamb (February 4, 2015)

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This is a great book! I read it with my three year old and he loved it but I can’t wait to read it with my students. It is a unique way to learn about the water cycle, animals in different habitats and even good manners ? The pictures are as detailed and as realistic as you can find anywhere. Truly a great book. And as with all Dawn Publications there are many levels to learning. There is a information page in the back that provides factual details about the featured animals. With my 3 year old I skip it. But with my 7 year old, we read that every time. I’m sure I’ll be reading this at bedtime and leaving it with them to examine under the night light.

— Amazon.com (Customer Review) – Erin Schade (February 3, 2015)