By Julie Zickefoose
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $28.00
Julie Zickefoose’s love for birds and wildlife shines through in this both informational and touching recountance of her vast experiences with birds in her backyard. She devotes a chapter to each of the amazingly diverse types of birds she comes across. Her enthusiasm is contagious and can turn even a fair weather fan of birds into an absorbed reader of her memories with redtails, bluebirds, scarlett tanagers, and so many more.
Her information is passed on to the reader through an easy to understand and relatable text rather than pedantic and exclusive bird lingo, as she tells us in the foreword she relies not as heavily on science and technicalities as she does on emotional connection and response to the creatures.
We have all probably had some tender moment with an animal in our lives, and these are such that Zickefoose relishes. She shares them readily and wholly. She holds nothing back, using exuberant language to describe these moments as “lovely” and “beautiful”.
Her poetic prose, sheer excitment, and passion for her life’s work make this read enjoyable for both the bird enthusiast and those who simply enjoy good literature and beatiful storytelling.
