Hummingbird

by Nicola Davies, Jane Ray (Illustrator)

Follow a tiny hummingbird on its journey from Central America to Central Park in a captivating tale with exquisite illustrations echoing the creature's jeweled tones.

Tz'unun! Tz'unun! A buzz of wings, a flash of color . . . There's a very special visitor in Granny's garden. It's a hummingbird! And it's just about to begin its long migration, heading north to its nesting ground. Watch as it spreads joy to all who encounter it along its two-thousand-mile trek. In an engaging text sprinkled with facts, zoologist Nicola Davies introduces readers to this valiant bird, lighter than a nickel, while Jane Ray's lush, intricate illustrations, accented in gold Pantone, highlight its jewel-like beauty. More details about hummingbirds, along with a bibliography and an index, are available at the end to budding ornithologists.

Genres: Picture Books, Birds, Animals, Nature, Childrens, Nonfiction, Science

29 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2019

About the author

"I was very small when I saw my first dolphin," says zoologist Nicola Davies, recalling a seminal visit with her father to a dolphin show at the zoo. Enchanted at the sight of what she called the "big fish" jumping so high and swimming so fast, she determined right then that she would meet the amazing creatures again "in the wild, where they belonged." And indeed she did--as part of a pair of scientific expeditions, one to Newfoundland at the age of eighteen and another to the Indian Ocean a year later. In WILD ABOUT DOLPHINS, Nicola Davies describes her voyages in a firsthand account filled with fascinating facts and captivating photographs of seven species of dolphins in action.

Nicola Davies's seemingly boundless enthusiasm for studying animals of all kinds has led her around the world--and fortunately for young readers, she is just as excited about sharing her interests through picture books. The zoologist's latest offering puts a decidedly quirky twist on her years of experience: POOP: A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE UNMENTIONABLE is a fun, fact-filled guide to the fascinating world of poop across species. "As a zoologist, you are never far from poop!" the writer explains. "I've baked goose poop in an oven with my dinner, looked at bat poop under the microscope, and had my T-shirt stained pink with blue-whale poop. I was obviously fated to write this book."


The exceptional combination of Nicola Davies's zoological expertise and her first-rate children's writing is apparent in her remarkable catalog of award-winning titles. Her first book with Candlewick Press, BIG BLUE WHALE, was hailed by American Bookseller as an "artfully composed study" offering "language exactly appropriate for four- to seven-year-olds and precisely the right amount of information." In ONE TINY TURTLE, Nicola Davies's clear, compelling narrative follows the life of the rarely seen loggerhead turtle, which swims the oceans for thirty years and for thousands of miles in search of food, only to return, uncannily, to lay her eggs on the very beach where she was born. The author's next book, BAT LOVES THE NIGHT, is a tenderly written ode to a much-misunderstood flying mammal, the pipistrelle bat, while SURPRISING SHARKS--winner of a BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Honor Award--contains unexpected facts about another one of the planet's most infamous animals.


When she is not off on scientific expeditions, Nicola Davies lives in a cottage in Somerset, England, where she is lucky enough to have pipistrelle bats nesting in her roof.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Jane Ray’s illustrations of especially the hummingbirds and flowers are colourfully realistic and yes, even magically aesthetically delightful and albeit that I have also and indeed much enjoyed Nicola Davies’ factual information about ruby-throated hummingbirds and their long migrations (from Mexico and Central America to the United States and Southern Canada in the spring and then back again in the fall), I really have totally despised one part of Hummingbird with every fibre of my being, and namely that the author, that Nicola Davies is obviously totally in favour of actively and ongoingly feeding hummingbirds with sugared water and trapped insects. For sorry, but in my opinion (and many bird experts actually do tend to equally agree with this), if one actively and consistently feeds hummingbirds, not only do the birds tend to become increasingly tame and accustomed to being fed, they often will even start to no longer actively seek out flowers for their nectar (which will or at least could of course then also interfere with pollination, as just like with honeybees, hummingbirds also pollinate as they fly from flower to flower drinking nectar), not to mention that feeding hummingbirds also seems to make them more sluggish and even at times obese which could make them an easier target for predators.

And while I of course am well aware of the fact that many people do feed hummingbirds and that this seemingly is also a major joy and delight to and for them, that in Hummingbird Nicola Davies is most definitely with her text, with her printed words absolutely, totally uncritical with regard to hummingbirds being fed and that she depicts this as something utterly and entirely positive and unproblematic, yes, that really does bother me to no end. For at the very least, Davies really should also be textually pointing out the potential issues that too much and too consistent hummingbird feeding can cause, and indeed that many scientists actually do consider that feeding hummingbirds on an ongoing basis might well play havoc with their natural life cycle and almost domesticate them to an extent.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this stunningly beautiful book featuring artwork by Jane Ray, we learn about these tiny, jewel-like birds, and their amazing annual migration from Mexico and Central America to the U.S., and all the way into Canada - a journey of almost 2000 miles.





I was interested to read that birds can live to the ripe old age of nine. For years now I've been certain that I'm seeing the same birds again and again. They remember exactly where my feeders were the previous year, and will hover just outside my kitchen window if they're empty.

What amazing and feisty birds they are!

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is lovely. Note that the focus is on the migration of the ruby-throated hummingbird (not a variety of hummingbirds) On the one hand, I kind of like the idea of showing the humans observing the hummingbird as it travels from south to north, but it also felt kind of random and disjointed because sometimes we focused on the humans observing the hummingbirds, then we'd turn the page and find some factual information about hummingbirds. Also, I have enjoyed many of Jane Ray's books, but I'm not a big fan of her humans, actually but I LOVED her illustrations of the hummingbirds. There's a bit of back matter "More About Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds" and a (skimpy) Bibliography. Overall, I would recommend this only as an addition to a study of hummingbirds (or just for general reading pleasure).
(Note that Manybook's review mentions that some experts advise against feeding hummingbirds. I've not heard this before, but it's worth checking out. I have heard that it is very important to properly clean and maintain the feeders so the birds do not become sick. It would have been good if Davies included this information in her book.
https://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/fe...)

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Informative and interesting. The illustrations are a real treat! We got a kick out of one of the pages with the family. The dad had tasteful tattoos and the son had a hearing aid. 💗

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hummingbird by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Jane Ray. PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION. Candlewick Press, 2019. $17. 9781536205381


BUYING ADVISORY: EL(K-3) - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Ruby-throated hummingbirds make an incredible journey every year from Central America up into the far reaches of North America. This story follows the birds on their migration, with an extra focus on the humans who look forward to their arrival and prepare food and things to help them on their way. Along with the fictionalized aspects, scientific facts about the hummingbirds are included on most pages.

I love hummingbirds and I was excited to read this book--especially because the illustrations are vivid and lovely. Unfortunately, the "story" itself fell a bit flat for me. It was hard to actually piece together any real story and I think the book would have been better served if it stuck to the nonfiction way of telling this story. That being said, it is a lovely celebration of hummingbirds and the illustrations really are terrific.

Reviewer: TC
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author ties together stories from Central and North America of humans interacting with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds as they dwell and travel between the north and the south over the season. Facts about their lives and migration are discreetly tucked into the illustrations and are woven into the text.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fictional story infused with info about ruby-throated hummingbirds. Gorgeous paintings rendered in watercolor, watercolor pencil and gold ink.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will never not love Jane Ray's art.

[Amanda Geske · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Their wings make the sound of their name, beating fast as thought: Tz’unun! Tz’unun!”

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

British author/illustrator team Nicola Davies and Jane Ray chronicle the migration of ruby-throated hummingbirds from Central America to North America and then back again in this gorgeous picture book. The narrative is split between a grandmother/granddaughter story and the story of the hummingbirds themselves. The granddaughter starts out in Mexico with her grandmother, where she feeds and watches the hummingbirds, and ends up in New York City, where she encounters a hummingbird egg in Central Park. In between, the hummingbirds migrate across the Caribbean and up into North America, finding mates, and then caring for their eggs and chicks...

As someone who admires both Davies and Ray—the former for her engaging and informative tales, the latter for her beautiful artwork—I had every expectation of enjoying Hummingbird, and I was not disappointed. Although I did find the text here somewhat weak—I think splitting the narrative between the hummingbirds and the grandmother/granddaughter was a mistake, from a storytelling perspective—it was nevertheless interesting. The real star however, was the artwork, created using watercolor, watercolor pencil and gold ink. The visuals here were just stunning, from the decorative endpapers to the many beautiful, jewel-toned birds within. Most of the illustrations I have seen from Ray has been in fairy-tales, so it was interesting to see her work in other contexts. I do wish that the text here had been stronger—the inclusion of the grandmother/granddaughter theme didn't just split attention, it also meant there was less time spent learning about hummingbirds—although I did appreciate the author's informative afterword. Were it not for the artwork, this would have probably been a three-star title for me, but with these visuals, I had to increase my rating. Recommended to fans of gorgeous picture book art, and young readers interested in hummingbirds.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The non-fiction information in this beautifully illustrated picture book is about the ruby-throated hummingbird. They are amazing tiny birds that live in North America - Canada and the US - during the summer, and at summer’s end they fly to Mexico and Central America to live through the winter.
The index of this book: babies; diet; eggs; feathers; feeders; flowers; flying; nests; size; sleeping; weight; wings.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a grandmother’s garden in Central America, a granddaughter watches the zooming hummingbirds. The birds will soon be heading north for the summer to their nesting grounds. The tiny birds must cross the Gulf of Mexico, stopping for a bit of rest on boats along the way. They continue on, following the blooming flowers as they stretch northward. When they reach their nesting grounds, the male hummingbirds defend their nearby flowers. There, the same girl, now in New York City, finds an eggshell on the ground and realizes that she has seen both the beginning and end of the hummingbird’s migration.

Davies, a zoologist, beautifully frames the story of the hummingbird with one little girl’s own travels from Central America to her home in New York City. She makes sure that readers have plenty of facts about the hummingbird, from how light they are to what their diets need to how they nest and migrate. Davies has a real skill for sharing just enough facts with young readers and still telling a compelling story that is not derailed by too many factoids.

The illustrations by Ray are phenomenal. Her delicate lines are exactly the right format for these tiny birds. She captures the beauty of their feathers and their coloring. She also shows them in mid-air but still manages to convey their speed and dexterity.

A beautiful nonfiction picture book about an amazing tiny bird. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with illustrations created in watercolor and watercolor pencil with gold ink, this beautiful picture book follows the journey of ruby-throated hummingbirds. Readers will be swept away by the beautiful images featuring hummingbirds all over the place. It starts with a small girl and her grandmother luring the birds into the garden. The little girl is moving to New York City, and her grandmother points out that the birds are also heading north. The hummingbirds touch many lives and evoke wonder as they fly away, and to the girl's surprise, she sees a hummingbird much later in the year after her family has settled into their new home. It really is a wonder how these small creatures can survive those long round trips. Several of the pages contain tidbits of information about hummingbirds to complement the story. My favorite images are found in the double-page spread showing the arrival of spring. All those greens and soft colors and mountain peaks are easy to the eyes, and evoked a feeling of peace in me. Science teachers will fall in love with this book, but fans of strong writing will also appreciate its beautiful words. As I finished it, though, I felt a bit sad that the increasing encroachment of humans has stolen places where the birds typically stopped for food and water along the way.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

They appear when you least expect them. There is the long-ago memory of holding a bouquet of fresh-cut zinnias while standing in my garden. One landed on a flower to sip the nectar. I stood, holding my breath. There is the most recent recollection of digging up a new garden in the first few days of hot summer sun. Wearing a hat with netting to protect myself from the hordes of black flies, a sudden humming near my face had me freezing. A hummingbird was there before my eyes. Was I like some giant flower? Was it coming to say hello? Or perhaps, and thankfully, it was coming to consume some of those flies.

In northern Michigan they are only here during our short summer months, but their tiny presence is a reminder of how resilient even the smallest beings are. Hummingbird (Candlewick Press, May 7, 2019) written by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Jane Ray is a narrative piece of nonfiction. It's a blend of the annual migration of hummingbirds and how they encounter humans during their trek. It's a tribute to one of nature's jewels.


My full recommendation:https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A map of the 4,000-mile yearly round-trip migration route of ruby-throated hummingbirds from Mexico and Central America to the United States and Canada—and back—introduces Nicola Davies’ informative read aloud, which begins as a granddaughter is about to return to New York city at the same time the tiny birds leave for their nesting grounds. “They’ll soon be gone,” Granny says, “flying north like you.” Jane Ray’s exquisite jewel-toned illustrations, done in watercolor and watercolor pencil with gold ink, include hummingbirds (visible to readers) in such locations as on a sailboat rigging, at nectar feeders, and in flowery fields. Finally, Granny receives a newspaper clipping from her granddaughter describing how hummingbirds “have nested for the first time in Central Park.” Additional factoids include how “Tz’unun or zun-zun is the word for hummingbird in several languages used in South and Central America.” A “More About Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds” section, a bibliography, and an index conclude the book.

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Combine fantastic illustrations with an adventure story about a tiny, but heart-strong bird and you have a winner. The tale begins with a whispered conversation between a grandmother and her granddaughter as they watch a Ruby Throated Hummingbird feeding in preparation for its spring migration from Central America to the United States. While the girl flies home to New York City, the hummingbirds' flight north is shown in steps, while including facts like the tiny creatures' ability to cross up to 500 miles of ocean without stopping. Their longevity, feeding preferences and nesting habits are also woven into the story, with each stage of the journey is shown through lavish illustrations. I read this to a fidgety kindergartener and he never moved the whole time I was reading. This is a perfect blend of story and factual information about a bird that nearly everyone loves.

[Mary Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this lovely Nature Storybook, Nicola Davies gives real insight into the story of the hummingbird. The tale of their spring migration from Central America to far Northern climates is fed with many facts and shows them as creatures, though tiny (about the size of your thumb!) of great resilience and fascinating beauty. But more than just the tale of a tiny bird, Davies weaves in an inter-generational relationships and the enduring connection of family. Add to this, the exquisite illustrations of Jane Ray, brimming with life and colour and you have something truly special. Filled with expression and detail, this book is simply beautiful. Not only one to learn a great deal from, but one to treasure.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

'A Nature Storybook about hummingbirds, beautifully told and illustrated by Nicola Davies and Jane Ray.'
This wonderful book shows the power of both information and imagination.
The facts presented are curious and interesting, around the narrative of a little girl visiting her grandmother and enticing hummingbirds to their bird-feeder.
The illustrations are exquisite, and draw you into the book - as does its large-page layout.
This is just a truly delightful book to lose oneself in. It's more than reading a book. It's a multi-layered experience to delight the soul.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information in this book is fascinating. I felt that it began with a story but then abandoned that story, popped into multiple stories and then came back to the original story. I would have liked to follow a single hummingbird’s journey from Granny’s garden to New York where the granddaughter discovers the eggshell from its nest. I did like the last page with Granny, the piece of eggshell, and a drawing from her granddaughter held up just right so the reader can see that the drawing looks an awful lot like the hummingbird currently hanging out in Granny’s garden.

[Ginny Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

I typically love children’s nonfiction picturebooks by Nicola Davies, and we have many in our library collection. However, this one seemed a bit disjointed to me. There is an included index for finding information about hummingbirds within the story, but it seems needless because there aren’t that many actual facts in the story. The preface says that it’s all about the Ruby-throated hummingbird, but other than: they eat nectar and flies, their nest is the size of half a walnut, and they migrate, it didn’t seem very factual like her other books.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow hummingbirds from Granny's garden in Central America to New York City where her granddaughter lives on their grand migration through one year and learn facts about these tiny powerhouses along the way.

This is a creatively done informational book that doesn't feel like you are reading nonfiction, but really is just all about ruby-throated hummingbirds. The illustrations are eye-catching, the text is engaging, and readers will definitely come away knowing more about these tiny birds that make a huge migration journey each year.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale of two journeys north - a young girl moving to New York and a tiny hummingbird beginning its northward migration. Davies' focus is on the hummingbird and the truly amazing facts about it but those are sweetly wrapped in an engaging story.

Jane Ray's illustrations are done in watercolor and pencil and they steal the show and bedazzle the eye every bit as much as their tiny subjects.

Lovely and informative.

[Carissa Mclain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the journey of a hummingbird and a little girl from Central America all the way to central park. It combines a realistic fiction story with information about hummingbirds. The illustrations are very pretty and bright and I think children would enjoy learning about the hummingbird's journey as well as following the story of the little girl.

[Raven Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book is just that, WOW. While there is nothing EARTH SHATTERING abut this book, but it beautifully blends a story and hummingbird facts seamlessly. The images are beyond lovely and just over all a fantastic package.

[JSL · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, focusing on the ruby throated hummingbird of North America. Informative and interesting. The tattoo-laden mother is a minus.

Reviewed in World magazine, Aug 3 2019 issue (where I first learned about this book).

[Tony Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who enjoy watching and feeding hummingbirds, this 2021-2022 Georgia Children’s Picture Book Award Nominee would be a great addition to your picture book collection. Lots of great facts about hummingbirds woven into the story.

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting nonfic-fic mashup.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully illustrated book about the migration of Hummingbirds from Central and South America to Canada. I love Nicola Davies and her detailed non-fiction work about animals and the planet.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous little book about the hummingbird’s migratory pattern.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

migration, families living apart, illustrations