this is an amazing little book! we have all of these birds in our neighbourhood here in Southern Ontario. my kids play-to-learn a lot for their homeschooling and since I bought the book the day before yesterday they have learned enough of the birds to be correcting each other via the sounds! this is a wonderful and extremely easy way to teach my kids about our local fauna!! I'm absolutely seeking out the other books! I also wish there were more for the birds in our area <3 commenting on its behavior, instead of playing. Then he demanded that we take a picture to share with the family!

This is a book that, in fact, could appeal to all ages. The pictures and sounds are great for a young child to learn from, and the facts and descriptions will engage older children. It would also be suitable as a basic book for adults wanting to learn more about gardens birds, giving them the ability to start understanding basic birdsong, or even better – a good opportunity for an adult to spend time with a child, learning together. BBC Culture’s Stories that Shaped the World series looks at epic poems, plays and novels from around the globe that have influenced history and changed mindsets. A poll of writers and critics, 100 Stories that Shaped the World, was announced in May.

Through poetry, rites and music, Confucian education sought to teach moral subtleties – easily memorised in the form of singing, The Book of Songs helped to lay down rules for behaviour. Its poetry, as opposed to the Western tradition, was largely anonymous and apparently simple. Yet beneath the surface, the poems are multi-layered. To this day, the Songs – and especially the Airs – are speaking in multiple voices. In delightful ambiguity, they have survived every attempt to be reduced, and hence diminished, to a single message or meaning. I have always wanted to know more about birds in an abstract way. When we decided that I would be homeschooling I decided this would be a perfect time to act on this desire. British Trust for Ornithology, BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, Tel: +44 (0)1842 750050 Fax: +44 (0)1842 750030

It's the sort of book which children have to plead with the adults to let them have a look at. Everything about it is superb. Highly recommended." -- The Bookbag.co.uk All twelve birds have winter or summer ranges in the United States and Canada. This means that readers are sure to see most if not all the birds. Love this book for adults and for kids, though I eliminate some details when reading for my preschooler and kindergartener. It’s sparked my kids’ interest in birds! Yesterday my preschooler preferred to sit outside and watch a mourning dove,And even those who can recite all of “the three hundred”: if you are unable to apply the poems flexibly creatively according to context, “what use is there for them?” In short, it was never about what the songs – all of them anonymous – originally meant, or where they came from. It was always about something else: how can you make them mean something new? Listen to what the Confucius of the Analects had to say about them: the Songs “can be covered in one phrase: no wayward thoughts!”; with them, “one can inspire, observe, unite, and express resentment” as well as learn “in great numbers the names of fish, birds, beasts, plants, and trees”; those who fail to master them “have nothing to express themselves with” and are like a man who “stands with his face straight to the wall”. Of course as is my rule, I always have to read and review the books before I gift them to make sure the stories are good and, if from my childhood, remain relevant and appropriate!