In case your vacation plans embrace the Christmas Chicken Rely and there are children in your life, contemplating getting a duplicate of the image e-book BIRD COUNT by Susan Edwards Richmond, illustrated by chicken artist Stephanie Fizer Coleman. Regardless of its identify, the Christmas Chicken Rely (CBC) doesn’t fall on Christmas. It’s an annual census of birds within the Western Hemisphere, and takes place anytime between mid-December and early January. The info is collected in “chicken circles” which cowl particular areas, and is distributed to the Nationwide Audubon Society, the place it’s used to find out long-term traits.
Creator Susan Edwards Richmond started attending the CBC within the early 2000s, and has solely missed a couple of years since. In BIRD COUNT, a baby named Ava is heading out for the chicken depend—and for the primary time, she is requested to do the tally. Group chief Huge Al asks if she has introduced a scientist’s most necessary instruments, and Ava is aware of which means her eyes and ears. The depend isn’t just about seeing birds, and in an early unfold, Ava data each an excellent horned owl and chickadee from their calls. The fitting aspect of every unfold is Ava’s pocket book, and readers can watch the listing and depend of birds develop over the course of the story.
Susan is a instructor, a author, and a poet, and her use of language and understanding of youngsters shines within the out-loud readability of this story. Math ideas like tally marks and averaging are deftly tied in. The e-book earned a 2021 Mathematical Books honor award, given by the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute in partnership with each the Nationwide Council of Academics of English and the Nationwide Council of Academics of Arithmetic.
Illustrator Stephanie Fizer Coleman focuses on birds—with some bugs and flowers and youngsters—however her ardour is in serving to fellow chicken nerds with nature-inspired artwork. In BIRD COUNT, her concentrate on coloration and texture imply that you would be able to nearly really feel the pom-pom that graces the highest of Ava’s woolen cap or the heat of the post-count campfire.
The Christmas Chicken Rely is likely one of the longest-running citizen science initiatives on the earth, and this e-book’s success has led to different books by the writer/illustrator crew. BIRD COUNT is now a part of the “Group Science Counts!” collection, which presently contains THE GREAT POLLINATOR COUNT and BIOBLITZ! COUNTING CRITTERS. Backmatter contains extra info on every of the 2 dozen species featured on this e-book, together with an writer’s word with details about the Christmas Chicken Rely and tips on how to get entangled. As a result of the CBC is citizen science, it’s an open invitation to all—together with kids—to get entangled and assist the birds.
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BIRD COUNT by Susan Edwards Richmond, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman
Peachtree, 2019
ISBN: 978-1561459544
$17.99 USA
32 pages, Grade degree PreK-3, ages 4-8, Lexile 550L