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The Hummingbird Garden Reviewed By Conny Crisalli of Bookpleasures.com
- By Conny Withay
- Published September 29, 2012
- Childrens & Young Adults
Conny Withay
Reviewer Conny Withay:Operating her own business in office management since 1991, Conny is an avid reader and volunteers with the elderly playing her designed The Write Word Game. A cum laude graduate with a degree in art living in the Pacific Northwest, she is married with two sons, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren.
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Author: Evelyn Schwarz
Illustrator: Kitty Quinn
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 978-1-4327-9815-4
The miniscule hummingbird is a wonderful and interesting creature. In Evelyn Schwarz’s The Hummingbird Garden¸ not only are the intricacies of this tiny bird discussed but there is a lesson in friendship and compassion for God’s creations.
In this thirty page, nine by nine inch paperback book, there is a simplistic drawing of a freckled faced, blond girl looking at a green humming bird with a purple background on the front cover. Photographs and description of both author and illustrator are on the back. Each sky blue background page inside has a colorful drawing depicted on the top half of the page and a highlighted paragraph of wording below it. The artwork is unpretentious and easy to understand, done in ink with water colors. Since there are no fearful or alarming scenes or sentences, this book would be ideal to be read to the young preschooler age, especially at bedtime. With the amount of sentences, it may be for the early elementary school age reader who understands more complex words.
The tome is about six year old Alexis, who recently moves from an apartment into a home with a yard. When she is in her backyard, a small object catches her eyes and she follows it as it floats over the fence and into a neighbor’s property. Trying to see the unique thing, she peeks through a hole in the fence, only to be surprised by a beautiful garden with all the colorful flowers, bird feeders and many small, fluttering birds. Dragging her parents outside, she asks what the tiny animals that hover and even fly backwards are and learns they are hummingbirds.
With the help of her parents and new neighbors, including Tyler their young son, Alexis and her family want to replicate a hummingbird garden too. However, Tyler is very afraid that all the hummingbirds in his yard will leave and go to the new garden. Alexis is sad for her new-found friend but they plant the garden anyway. The next day there are so many birds feeding and happy in both gardens. Alexis and Tyler are glad they learned to share their hummingbird gardens and become such good friends.
This book is great for young children who want to observe nature and participate in feeding and caring for our world, especially the unique hummingbird. The story shows by working together and sharing, we not only make friends but can help our environment.
