I Love Birds!: 52 Ways to Wonder, Wander, and Explore Birds with Kids

by Jennifer Ward, Alexander Vidal (Illustrator)

Hunt for owls by ear, discover the science of feathers, and become familiar with the birds in your neighborhood and beyond—52 activities for kids ages 4 to 8

Calling all birders! It’s time to share the joy of birds with the kids in your life. I Love Birds! is chock-full of activities, information, and rich resources that will fuel discovery and inspire families. Through sensory, hands-on, and creative explorations that involve birding basics and the hows and whys of bird behavior, the activities here will engage children’s imagination and sense of wonder as they observe birds in the wild, become citizen scientists, and forge a deeper understanding, appreciation, and stewardship toward nature, our planet, and all things feathery.

Genres: Birds, Childrens

176 pages, Paperback

Published March 12, 2019

About the author

Jennifer Ward is the author of more than 25 award-winning nonfiction and fiction books for children and adults.

Her books have been translated into many languages and featured in Martha Stewart's Living, Ranger Rick, on NPR, television's Animal Planet network, and on many popular blogs such as Soule Mama.

Most of Jennifer's books are inspired by science and nature and artfully combine elements of STEM & literacy.

She writes full-time from her home in Illinois where she lives with her husband and two dogs and is easily distracted by everything outside of her windows - particularly if it has feathers!

Reviews

[Cheryl]

Oh I love this! I so want a toddler with whom I can do these activities! As a library book for an adult, it's of limited value, but it would be a perfect book for baby's first birthday.

Some of the activities are worth doing with the littlest, so start while they're young. If your child is older, start now anyway. Maybe you already have so much going on you can't prioritize time in nature to do one of these activities every week for 52 weeks of a year, but please try!

(Most activities are easily accessible or adaptable to most situations. A few rely on things not all children have access to, like snow, but even those could be adaptable with problem-solving or creativity.)

Highly recommended, even above the other books I've seen that are roughly similar.

Carefully skimmed June 2025.

[Lana]

I Love Birds is a great starter birding book for kids. The book is broken up by seasons and encourages you to explore and observe the areas around you to be able to identify the birds in your neighborhood. It includes three parts in each season; observe, take note, and take action. The book includes places to make notes and write down what you see while observing your surroundings. It also has many projects to take part in as well. What I enjoyed most was all the bird facts such as migration patterns, wing speeds, and how much different birds need to eat. I highly recommend this bird book!
Thank you to Roost Books and NetGalley for this wonderful advanced copy in exchange for my honest review, my opinions are my own.

[Kate Keaveny]

This book is full of interesting ideas for hands on projects and advice. For children and parents there are tips on all aspects of birds from behaviour to feeding.
Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. It will make a great addition to a topic library when doing a project on birds and animals.

[Alicia Bayer]

This is a really fabulous book for young bird lovers that can double as a fun part of a science and nature curriculum. It features activities broken down by season that are designed for parents to do with kids to teach them about birds. There are lots of great projects, facts and activities, with beautiful artwork throughout.

Ideal for homeschoolers, nature lovers, preschools, day cares, nature centers and forest schools, it's also affordably priced.

In my rating system for books I read for reviews, I give 5 stars if I am seriously considering buying the book for myself or would buy it again if it were lost (or for books that are not relevant for me, that I would buy for my home library if they applied). Even if a book has flaws, if I'd buy it for myself or a friend then I consider it a 5 star book. This book fits that criteria and I honestly cannot think of any flaws.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

[Emma]

This is a lovely book filled with information and ideas to get parents and children birding together. The idea of stopping to observe and appreciate the world around you was emphasized. Includes information, trivia, observational techniques and activities, and crafts for every week if the year.

[sweet orange books]

A richly illustrated book filled with activities that will occupy your bird-loving kids all year long!

Thank you NetGalley and Roost Books for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Read and reviewed: 2018-12-06

[Kathy Davila]

This book is full of fun ideas for appreciating birds in every season of the year. It's so clever. It will help you notice the birds around you even more. I would especially recommend it for grandparents.

[Amy]

Learned so mcuh about birds. FOund great activities to do with my grandkids too.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[RedRobinXXX]

I am reviewing this book for Jennifer Ward, Roost Books, and NetGalley who gave me a copy of their book for an honest review.
Lots of facts about birds, places to take notes and ideas of what to look for and projects to take part in. Perfect for any young bird-enthusiast.