Tiny Bird: A Hummingbird's Amazing Journey

by Robert Burleigh, Wendell Minor (Illustrator)

Overview

Robert Burleigh's narrative nonfiction picture book follows a hummingbird’s migration south for the winter, with stunning art by Wendell Minor.

When the last summer flowers open their petals to the sun, it’s time for a tiny ruby-throated hummingbird to dip its beak into the heart of each bloom, extracting as much nectar as possible before the hard trip ahead.

Today is the day Tiny Bird begins its amazing journey south for the winter, traveling as fast as thirty miles an hour for hundreds of miles on end. The trip is long, with savage weather and many predators along the way, but Tiny Bird is built for this epic journey and eventually arrives at its winter home.

This inspiring migratory and life cycle story celebrates the important and impressive feat of a small but mighty creature.

Christy Ottaviano Books

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627793698
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	619,324
Product dimensions:	10.40(w) x 10.45(h) x 0.35(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Robert Burleigh has written many acclaimed children's picture books, including several illustrated by Wendell Minor: Edward Hopper Paints His World, Abraham Lincoln Comes Home, and If You Spent a Day with Thoreau at Walden Pond. The recipient of the Prairie State Award, naming him Illinois Children’s Book Author of the Year, Bob lives in Grand Haven, Michigan.

Wendell Minor is the illustrator of many award-winning picture books for children, including those noted with Robert Burleigh as well as Wild Orca by Brenda Peterson and the New York Times–bestselling Reaching for the Moon by Buzz Aldrin. He lives in Washington, Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books of the Year Pick

"Kids will be mesmerized by this dynamic portrait of one of nature’s winged wonders."—Booklist, starred review

"The simple narrative is set in short, poetic lines. There's suspense . . . And, there's expressive language, with alliteration, occasional rhyme, and plentiful imagery. A fine addition to "sense of wonder" collections." —Kirkus Reviews

"Scientific facts about hummingbird feeding and flight are emphasized in the formative text and the light-and motion-filled illustrations, which skillfully convey the bird’s movements." —Horn Book

From the Publisher

04/01/2020

K-Gr 2—Each ruby-throated hummingbird migrates alone from North America to Mexico for the winter, a journey of over 1,500 miles. The narrative begins by describing the unique flying abilities of the hummingbird that allow it to hover and dart up, backward and forward as it extracts nectar from the last blossoms of summer. Soon the urge to migrate compels the tiny bird to fly south. The hummingbird, sometimes reaching speeds of 30-miles-per-hour, arrives at the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. During its solo 500-mile nonstop flight across the water, the bird is confronted by crashing waves, leaping fish, and thunderstorms amply illustrated in dark spreads. Many hummingbirds do not survive this ordeal. A one-page "Fun Facts" section amplifies information presented in the narrative. Another section describes how people can make their yards into a hummingbird "dining spot." The endpapers include a map of the hummingbird's migration journey and other facts. VERDICT The narrative and illustrations, though informative, do not quite capture the magical wonder of hummingbirds. Useful as an additional title in large public or school libraries.—Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA

School Library Journal

2020-01-26
A ruby-throated hummingbird flies 1,500 miles, from the northeastern United States across the Gulf of Mexico.

Naming his exemplar protagonist Tiny Bird, Burleigh chronicles its pre-migration feeding, its travels southward to the Florida shore, its perilous journey across the Caribbean (a convenient fishing boat provides a resting spot), and its arrival in its tropical winter home. The simple narrative is set in short, poetic lines. There’s suspense: “Over the first pounding waves, / it begins its nonstop flight of more than twenty hours. / Can Tiny Bird make it? Many hummingbirds never do.” The traveler just misses being eaten, first by a hawk and then by a large fish, and weathers a storm. And there’s expressive language, with alliteration, occasional rhyme, and plentiful imagery. After the successful trip, “Tiny Bird rests and feeds, / flickering from flower to flower / like an emerald spark flashing in the bright sun.” While the writer ascribes no gender to his character, Minor’s colorful paintings show a male. In images that feature huge flowers or the vastness of the ocean, the bird is appropriately small, but he’s magnified, reflecting his enormous courage, as he flies through the storm. Information about hummingbird size, flight, and feeding habits is sprinkled throughout the narrative and further developed in a final page of “fun facts”; there’s a map and additional facts on the endpapers.

A fine addition to “sense of wonder” collections. (tips to help hummingbirds, resources) (Informational picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews