Sparrows, by Hans Post & Kees Heij ~ Such a Delightful Book to Teach Kids about Sparrows

I found this book at the library the other day.  Since we just moved up north from down south I thought it'd give the kids an understanding of the sparrows that we find nesting here.  We didn't have these birds flying around our house down south.  Down there we had a lot of doves and cardinals in our yard - not to mention a very LOUD woodpecker!

To my amazement, this is going to become one of my favorite books!  The kids loved it so, and it really taught about what these sparrows do here.  I myself learned quite a bit just in the first few pages!  For instance, I didn't know that sparrows are not native to North America.  They came over with the early settlers.

The illustrations by Irene Goede, are spot on in depicting the life of these fine sparrow birds.  I grew up in the north and remember all the baby sparrows that would be in the nests in spring.  Goede's illustrations of the baby birdies with their mouths open is exactly how they are!  Her illustrations are so life-like!

The book starts out as we would expect with the baby sparrows hatching from their eggs. It goes on about how mama bird takes care of her young and what the birds do throughout the year.  It is so well done and even takes kids to various places where sparrows will build their nests.  We always laughed at the silly birds who built their nests in the lighted letters of the Food Lion grocery store sign.  And here in this book the sparrows are shown having a nest in a lighted store sign because it keeps them warm.  Smart birdies!!

At the back of the book the authors share about how the sparrows came to North America back in the 1850's.  They also have a list of facts about the sparrow.  The fact we found most interesting was that "a sparrow can weigh as much as seven sugar cubes."  As much?  Doesn't sound like much at all!

I highly recommend finding this book to read to your children. Not only will the kids enjoy it, you will enjoy it too!