The Burgess Bird Book For Children (Dover Children's Classics) Read Free Books and Download eBooks
Parents, teachers, and young readers all over the world have enthusiastically welcomed the Dover reprints of Thornton Burgess's classic nature books, including the perennial bestseller, The Adventures of Peter Cottontail. In the present volume, the author's goal of introducing children to the fascinating subject of bird life is brilliantly realized in story fashion. While "interviewing" Slaty the Junco, Redwing the Blackbird, Melody the Wood Thrush, Spooky the Screech Owl, and dozens of other common birds, our guides, Peter Rabbit and saucy Jenny Wren — and, of course, the reader — learn about their physical appearances, eating and nesting habits, and songs and calls. Over eighty years after its first publication, the book remains noteworthy and valuable for its extraordinarily successful blend of information and entertainment.
Series: Dover Children's Classics
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications (April 23, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486428400
ISBN-13: 978-0486428406
Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #17,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #14 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Animals > Birds & Birdwatching > Field Guides #18 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Field Guides #71 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Birds
Age Range: 8 - 14 years
Grade Level: 3 - 8
Even though on the sample page online Burgess refers to the beautiful and accurate illustrations of birds - they are completely missing in this edition! It was hugely disappointing and reveals a lack of understanding about the purpose of the book in the first place. The book was intended to be an introduction to bird identification and lore for children. It is not a simple story book - not at all! Burgess' entertaining and excellent writing, of course, remains.... I have no argument with Burgess - it is simply that half his material was left out of this publication without any notation in the description of the book that the illustrations had been deleted.
I have been fascinated with birds since I was young. I have 5 children and wanted to pass on this love. They were only slightly interested until I read this book to them. The intermingling of story and fact is just enough to keep even my young ones interested.Peter Rabbit is the main character. He goes around to the various habitats discovering the different birds. He wants especially to know where the nest is, and how many young they have. Jenny Wren is also a main character. She is little Miss-Know-it-All. The fact that she is characterized as somewhat "snooty" helped my kids remember that a good identifier to wrens is their upturned tails.Recently on a bird hike we spotted a cow bird. Our instructor began to explain the cowbirds nesting habits. My children were able to help explain as they had remembered it from The Burgess Bird Book for Children. As an avid birder and a Mom that was a great thrill. A lesson learned and all from a simple story.I recommed taking your time reading this to your children. A chapter here and there. We've been reading ours for over a year as time allows and as interests peak....especially in fall and spring as more birds migrate. I also recommend giving the kids an identifier book as you read. As soon as the name of the bird is revealed in each chapter the kids race to see who can find the bird first.
Thornton Burgess' stories 'interview' typical birds for kids, using these interviews to teach the basics on different common birds' appearances, behavior, eating and songs. His classic appeared in 1919 to much acclaim, and Dover's economy-minded paperwork reprint offers new generations the same introduction. The Burgess Bird Book For Children is especially recommended as a read-aloud tool for parents.
The "search inside" feature of this ad shows gorgeous, color photographs of the birds; HOWEVER, the actual book's photos are in black and white! Admittingly, the photos here are more accurate than Dover's older version's drawings, but you will still need to refer to another source for color photos/drawings. If you already own an older copy, don't bother with this one! If you are buying for the first time, you will appreciate the large, clear photos, but know that they are all in black and white.Spacing of the text is another problem I have with this publisher's version. The lines of text are too close together for easy reading. Dover's version is easier on the eyes.
I bought this for CM year 1 for my son. We have tons of birds that come to our feeder and this entertaining book has given my children good insight into the days of these little creatures. I thought the cover looked very familiar and couldn't recall why it seemed so. My mother was over at my house and picked it up. She said that she had the antique hardback and had it displayed because of it's beautiful cover. While it surprised her that it was still in print, after reading some of it, I'm not surprised at all. It's a joy, giving children rich vocabulary that has been largely lost and beautiful fictional stories of the world around us. Definitely NOT twaddle!
The kindle version of this book seems to have reproductions of the original illustrations - in color. We really enjoy the addition of these... It really adds to the written descriptions of the birds. Not all birds in the book have a corresponding illustration - but most of them do.As far as the writing and content, we loved it. My son (just turned 6) had developed an interest in birds, so when I saw this book - I thought it would be a great way to learn more about them, get our nightly reading in, and begin the switch to some chapter books. This book worked great for all three of those purposes. I also love the values/character the book blends in. It had made us big Burgess fans... We are on to the Seashore book now. :)
My review pertains to The burgess book for children/Thorton burgess masterpiece collection publishing date 2015 starling and black publications with the cover design by John Shepperd.There are no illustrations at all in this book. The pre-face gives credit to the beautiful color drawings of Mr. Lewis Fuertes. This publication is an outrage!
I should have paid better attention to the other reviews. The copy I received has NO illustrations. The book I had as a child was 5"x7"x2" and had beautiful color illustrations. The stories are still charming, but the type is very small, and without the illustrations, it's easy to lose interest. I'll keep it, and continue to look for the one from childhood that I long for.
The Burgess Bird Book for Children (Dover Children's Classics) Children's Book: The Bird Who Loved To MOO! [Children's books about animals & picture books for kids]: Children's Bird Books Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess The Crucible of Creation: The Burgess Shale and the Rise of Animals The Stormy Adventure of Abbie Burgess, Lighthouse Keeper (History's Kid Heroes) A Bird Is a Bird Bird Eating Bird: Poems (National Poetry Series) Feathers: A Beautiful Look at a Bird's Most Unique Feature (Bird Appreciation) Bird Cards: The Healing Power of the Bird Kingdom Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Children's Book : Pets War: The Fight for Best Pet (Cat and Dog Books, Bird, Hamster, Animal books for kids 7 9 12) Birds: An Adult Coloring Book: Over 30 Fun Stress Relieving Illustrations of Birds, #1 Book For Your Inner Artist, mindful meditation coloring book, bird guide natural world coloring book Birds: An Adult Coloring Book: Travel Edition Size, Over 30 Fun Stress Relieving Illustrations of Birds, #1 Book For Your Inner Artist, mindful ... book, bird guide natural world coloring book Children's German book: Where are the Easter Eggs. Wo sind die Ostereier: (Bilingual Edition) English German Picture book for children. Children's book ... books for children: 10) (German Edition) The Illustrated Book of Knights (Dover Children's Classics) The Orange Fairy Book (Dover Children's Classics) The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) Black Beauty (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics) Ten Tales from Shakespeare (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics) Native American Tales and Legends (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics)
