BIRD TALK

BIRD TALK: WHAT BIRDS ARE SAYING AND WHY, by Lita Judge (Flash Point/Roaring Brook, March 13, 2012)(ages 6-9).  This elegant and amply illustrated forty-eight page picture book presents an introduction to the myriad ways in which birds (avian dinosaurs) communicate: vocalizing, strutting, fighting, etc. Drawings are realistic and the text spare yet informative.  An afterword provides additional context on birds both familiar and unfamiliar.

A fascinating look at the natural world -- and I keep thinking it would be excellent paired with Diana Hutts Aston's AN EGG IS QUIET.  Lita did a Writers and Illustrators and Dinosaurs post for me a couple months ago, and she is also the author of BORN TO BE GIANTS: HOW BABY DINOSAURS GREW TO RULE THE WORLD.

Writers and Illustrators and Dinosaurs: Lita Judge

Lita at age 15 on a dig for the Royal Tyrell Museum

Lita Judge was born in Alaska, spent summers as a child in Wisconsin, and has a degree in geology.  She volunteered for two summers on a dinosaur dig in Canada (above) and is the author/illustrator of, among other books, BORN TO BE GIANTS: HOW BABY DINOSAURS GREW TO RULE THE WORLD.   

Lita sketches at the American Museum of Natural History

Lita's latest release is RED SLED.