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Backyard Bird Watching for Kids by George H. Harrison - book review

Book Review
Backyard Bird Watching for Kids by George H. Harrison (Willow Creek Press, 1997)

Ages 7-10

There's some good information in this book for kids who are just beginning to learn about birds. I like the design and colorful pictures, which together make backyard bird watching seem interesting and exciting (which it is).

I was less thrilled with the organization and writing - some of the material in the first few chapters makes birding sound more difficult than it is. Kids might get the impression that they must change their whole backyard habitat just to attract a few birds. The book is short on instructions for really easy bird feeders - the kind you make out of recycled plastic bottles - except for one photo of a milk-jug feeder.

There are some really clever ideas though, like "Mr. Feeder," a dummy you can build to make birds comfortable enough to fly to your lap to feed. I also liked their descriptions of common feeder birds, which include information on attracting each species. There's a nice chart showing which bird seed attracts which species. All in all, this book fills a gap in bird-related offerings for kids.