Nests & Eggs (Take Along Guides), Birds

This book has wonderful pictures. I basically used it for that purpose so children could see the many different types of birds. We did go on a picture walk through the book to name and talk about the birds.

This was our family's first introduction to the Mel Boring series. We loved this book. We did a unit on birds and birdwatching, and I picked it up from the library not expecting too much. But it was great.

Not only did it cover almost all the backyard birds in our region, but it had just the right amount of information for a little kid to learn about each bird--the food it eats, how big it is, the kind of nest it makes, and what its eggs look like. The color illustrations of the bird itself are pretty good--although they are not actual photos, which would have been nice. But my kids loved opening up to the two-page spread of the bird we were learning that day and hearing about it.

And the couple experiments were actually doable! A rare find in a science book!

We have K-4 in our house, but the youngest kids could not read the text alone--it is about a second or third grade level. And there is not too much text per page, but it is all non-fiction, reference text. It's a kids reference guide to birds, not a story or something they would just read through on their own (unless they love birds!). None of this detracts from the book, it's just something to be aware of. It worked well for the ages we have in our house.

We bought "More Fun with Nature" which includes this book, but I kind of wish I had purchased it separately. We used it so much and took it outside, and it would have been nice to have it as a stand-alone since "MFWN" is heavier.

We added Dover Coloring Backyard Birds for our littlest kids to color as we read the pages, and we added Common Birds and Their Songs to study birdcalls, and we had a great unit!

This book is even better than expected. It includes pictures of what nests and eggs look like with each species and there are a few craft ideas for making bird houses. There are also a few pages at the back left blank for a scrapbook. I will definitely be buying the additional books in this series for bugs, leaves, etc.

Birds, Nest ,and Eggs Mel Boring Reading Level 4.8
Birds, Nests, and Eggs is an excellent book. It is great for a book report or just to read for fun. It is about birds and what kind of tree they nest in. It also tells you what kind of calls they make. It shows you how long it takes for the eggs to hatch and when they learn how to fly. They show you how the birds trick you. They show you how to do some experiments. Again I strongly recommend it.

I purchased this book for my granddaughter, 4 years old. She loves anything to do with nature and this book was just perfect for her. She is always asking a lot of questions and she can find some of the answers for herself in the book. It's a perfect book for little ones and it's wonderful that it encourages them to learn more about nature.

Pros: The illustrations are beautiful. They are complex illustrations in a simple, white background. That is great for helping children to focus. It really creates an all over wonderful book.

Cons: I REALLY wish they had real photos along with the beautiful illustrations. I think I just misunderstood what it was.

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See who has moved into the birdhouse. Grandson reports wrens have moved into the birdhouse and now using the book to identify what other birds are in the yard. A great tool to teach young minds where to find answers in their future lives.