Striking jacket art will draw viewers to this simply written book introducing various birds and their nests. A typical entry features a large illustration showing a nest, watchful adult birds, and sometimes eggs or chicks. The birds' common names appear on small labels within the pictures. Presenting a specific topic to a young audience, the short statements often only comment on the location or shape of the nests shown. Near the book's end, the text explains why birds make nests: to keep the eggs and chicks safe. The artwork, "created with woodcut and digital tools," shows up well from a distance, making this a good choice for reading aloud to groups. Occasionally the illustrations raise questions that go unanswered in the text, particularly the images of nontraditional nests, such as those made by flamingos, ostriches, and social weavers. But the book's strength is that its images captivate viewers, engaging them enough to make them wonder and follow up on those questions. A handsome addition to wildlife collections serving young children.

A simple sentence or two per page gets right to the point while digitally colored woodcuts illustrate each labeled bird and the species' nest. Whether high or low; basket or mound-shaped; made with sticks, mud, grass, or animal hair, each type of bird has its own architectural plan to protect its eggs. Garland's illustration style gives the various nesting materials a similar, undistinguished look.

To keep their chicks and eggs safe, different bird species make different nests.For the youngest readers or listeners, this album shows a wide variety of nests sheltering eggs and chicks. On the copyright page, a black-capped chickadee flies with nesting material; at the end of the book, chicks emerge to walk, ride, or fly. Garland selects a variety of bird species from around the globe, guaranteeing that most readers will find some birds they recognize and others that feel exotic. A mourning dove nests in an old boot; ospreys, storks, and eagles seek nesting places high up; and ostriches, flamingos, and Australian pelicans make theirs directly on the ground. Basket nests hang from tree limbs, rest on branches, or cover a whole treetop (a kind of bird apartment house). A brown-headed cowbird takes advantage of someone else's nest. From the nesting mute swan and cygnets on the title page to the common loon in the water, chicks riding on her back, on the last, Garland's digital art uses scanned wood textures to mimic woodcuts. It will show well to a group. Birds are clearly labeled by common name and by sex where they obviously differ. Species are colored appropriately, the eggs less carefully, but the nests—the focus of this pleasing introduction—are reasonably accurate. The simple narrative arc, from nest-building to the beginnings of chick independence, is appropriate for the youngest readers, and the sense of wonder is palpable. Eggs-actly right for a nature-themed storytime. (Informational picture book. 3-7)

K-Gr 2From backyard treetops to the African savanna, and whether adorned with a discarded snakeskin or tucked into a discarded shoe, nests keep eggs and chicks safe. Colorful, earthy woodcuts illustrate the homes where birds raise their families. One spread displays a multitude of birds in different nests, including a house sparrow in a traffic light and white storks atop a utility pole. Bright pink American flamingos flame across another spread, tending eggs in their mudflat habitat. Children watch robins outside a window feed their chicks. Young wood ducks ready to fly jump down from their tree nest and follow their mother to the water. The colorful illustrations and lyrical, spare language highlight not only the variety of avian habitats in the world but also the life cycle of birds. VERDICT Equally at home on picture book and nonfiction shelves, this is a lovely and informative selection on different bird species and their nests.Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA