Bird Talk

From Publishers Weekly Jonas (Aardvarks Disembark!) records here, alongside accomplished artwork, the sounds of various birds as memory phrases coined by ornithologists to help us hear and remember bird songs. Every spread presents a roundup of species, each issuing his characteristic call. For example, a sunrise scene shows birds in a natural setting greeting one another with cartoon bubbles such as Wide-a-wake! (Sooty Tern), Hey Al! (Razorbill) and Hiyah Hiyah Hiyah Hiyah (Herring Gull). But at other times, the birds ostensibly react to contrived situations, as when the birds appear to be talking to a classroom filled with children (Teacher Teacher Teacher Teacher, says the Ovenbird, while the Magnolia Warbler cries, To Really Read It, To Really, Really Read It); yet the children seem deaf to the commotion outside their open window. With no story line or supporting text, other than the birds sounds, readers without prior knowledge of the feathered creatures may have difficulty discerning whats real from what is artificial here. Jonass finely detailed illustrations of the bird species, however, will please both novices and seasoned birdwatchers. Ages 3-up. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 3-A clever idea that doesn't quite fly. Jonas bases this chatty little picture book on "memory phrases" or words that naturalists often use to recognize and remember bird songs. The ever-playful author takes the notion a step further by putting the birds in situations in which their calls or repeated phrases may seem appropriate. For example, the book starts at dawn with a solitary sooty tern calling, "Wide-a-wake!" and a mockingbird echoes its greeting. As the day progresses, an ovenbird on the window ledge outside a classroom is overheard saying, "Teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher," while a chestnut-sided warbler calls out, "See, see, see, Miss Beecher, please, please, pleased to meet'cha," and a magnolia warbler laments, "To really read it, to really, really read it." The problem is that the songs are rarely so simple or straightforward. Jonas's bird groupings and behaviors are highly improbable and may confuse rather than inform readers. The full-color watercolor and black-pen artwork is certainly accomplished and appealing. Unfortunately, readers have to flip to the back of the book to identify the birds on each page. While encouraging young nature lovers to listen to and learn to identify the sounds around them is certainly an admirable goal, Bird Talk is apt to frustrate more potential wildlife lovers than it recruits.