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Birds
A stare of owls. A fall of woodcock. A congregation of plover. A company of parrots. This unique children's book includes easy-to-read, single-sentence entries that describe fourteen common species of birds, including swans, herons, phesants, bitterns, and owls. Four-color illustrations
complement the text, providing a curiosity-sparking introduction to the fascinating world of birding.
complement the text, providing a curiosity-sparking introduction to the fascinating world of birding.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
About the author
Brian Wildsmith
258 books54 followersBrian Wildsmith (1930-2016) was raised in a small mining village in Yorkshire, England, where, he says, "Everything was grey. There wasn't any colour. It was all up to my imagination. I had to draw in my head..."
He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art where he studied for three years. For a while he taught music at the Royal Military School of Music, but then gave it up so that he could paint full time.
He has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the greatest living children's illustrators. In 1962, he published his first children's book, ABC, for which he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's equivalent to the Caldecott Medal. He was also a runner up for this medal for The Owl and the Woodpecker.
Wildsmith has said: "I believe that beautiful picture books are vitally important in subconsciously forming a child's visual appreciation, which will bear fruit in later life."
In 1994, the Brian Wildsmith Art Museum was established in Izukogen, a town south of Tokyo, Japan. Almost one and a half million people visited a traveling exhibition of his work in 2005. Eight hundred of his paintings are on loan to the museum.
Brian is married, has four children, and currently lives in the south of France.
— Source
He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art where he studied for three years. For a while he taught music at the Royal Military School of Music, but then gave it up so that he could paint full time.
He has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the greatest living children's illustrators. In 1962, he published his first children's book, ABC, for which he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's equivalent to the Caldecott Medal. He was also a runner up for this medal for The Owl and the Woodpecker.
Wildsmith has said: "I believe that beautiful picture books are vitally important in subconsciously forming a child's visual appreciation, which will bear fruit in later life."
In 1994, the Brian Wildsmith Art Museum was established in Izukogen, a town south of Tokyo, Japan. Almost one and a half million people visited a traveling exhibition of his work in 2005. Eight hundred of his paintings are on loan to the museum.
Brian is married, has four children, and currently lives in the south of France.
— Source
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 30, 2017
What can I say? I just don't care for his art style, I guess. Don't know why. Also, if I did, I'd still want more from this book. Too few examples, and no text but "A * of *" ... so unsatisfying.
July 17, 2021
Unfortunately, my copy is smelling a bit musty. It's what you might have to put up with when you buy a book at the Saturday market for a few dollars. But the illustrations are still brilliant. Story? There is no story: "A walk of snipe"; "A wedge of swans"; "A fall of woodcock" and so on. Did he just make these names up or are they real names for numbers of things. Why does English have these strange collective nouns for animals? I just checked out a couple of these and they all seem to be legitimate. Wildsmith's style is deceptively erratic. At first glance like a child's scribbles but what an explosion of controlled colour> I constantly find myself asking: "How did he do this?" seems to be a wonderful melange of watercolour, gouche, crayon, spatter, sgraffito....and is there some work there with pen and ink? Not sure.
I recently wrote to the web site devoted to his work and received a delightful letter from his daughter who confirmed that they had no videos of him working ...so pretty difficult to decipher how he actually worked. But the end result is truly a marvel. The siege of bitterns with their beaks pointing up amid a few rough reeds seems to capture the essence of the birds...the colour, the pose, the beady eyes.
He specialised in birds and seems to have been able to effortlessly produce a bird of whatever shape......though I recall him saying somewhere that this effortlessness came of much practice. In his latter years he was apparently annoyed that he hadn't been given the recognition in England that he thought was warranted. (There was museum in Japan devoted to his work and that's where i first came across his work and later sought it out), Sadly, I no longer find his work in print. Maybe by taking himself and family off to France he removed himself from the hurly burly of art and publishing in England and somewhat removed himself from view. But it also attests to the fact that to be successful in Art one needs to also be a great publicist (or have one woking for you). Picasso said the key to success is in having a great agent.
Anyway, despite the lack of recognition....it takes nothing away from the power of the art itself. It's ostensibly directed at children but for me this is art for all ages. Love it. Five stars from me...even if my copy is musty.
I recently wrote to the web site devoted to his work and received a delightful letter from his daughter who confirmed that they had no videos of him working ...so pretty difficult to decipher how he actually worked. But the end result is truly a marvel. The siege of bitterns with their beaks pointing up amid a few rough reeds seems to capture the essence of the birds...the colour, the pose, the beady eyes.
He specialised in birds and seems to have been able to effortlessly produce a bird of whatever shape......though I recall him saying somewhere that this effortlessness came of much practice. In his latter years he was apparently annoyed that he hadn't been given the recognition in England that he thought was warranted. (There was museum in Japan devoted to his work and that's where i first came across his work and later sought it out), Sadly, I no longer find his work in print. Maybe by taking himself and family off to France he removed himself from the hurly burly of art and publishing in England and somewhat removed himself from view. But it also attests to the fact that to be successful in Art one needs to also be a great publicist (or have one woking for you). Picasso said the key to success is in having a great agent.
Anyway, despite the lack of recognition....it takes nothing away from the power of the art itself. It's ostensibly directed at children but for me this is art for all ages. Love it. Five stars from me...even if my copy is musty.
October 27, 2017
This book is absolutely beautiful in every way.
Brian Wildsmith educates the reader with the unique names associated with groups of different birds, along with visually stunning, unique illustrations. As an artist and birder myself, I really enjoyed reading this book and marveling at the illustrations, which I found most fascinating. His art style is very unique; he brings so much character, life and expression in each bird depicted in the book. Love the bold colors, abstractness, and beauty of each illustrated page.
It is very simple but will delight anyone - from young children to adults - who loves birds and gorgeously creative illustrations.
Highly recommended.
Brian Wildsmith educates the reader with the unique names associated with groups of different birds, along with visually stunning, unique illustrations. As an artist and birder myself, I really enjoyed reading this book and marveling at the illustrations, which I found most fascinating. His art style is very unique; he brings so much character, life and expression in each bird depicted in the book. Love the bold colors, abstractness, and beauty of each illustrated page.
It is very simple but will delight anyone - from young children to adults - who loves birds and gorgeously creative illustrations.
Highly recommended.
November 6, 2019
This book is great for students who love or would like to learn more about birds. The text is limited with only three words per page. The text, however, is not the most kid friendly. Students will need guidance for correct pronunciation or understanding of words, i.e., "nye" "siege" "congregation".
May 27, 2024
Only a few words to name the birds, and all is said in the illustrations. Such a marvelous book, asking to be read over and over to discover more details on each read. I highly recommend it.
Read and reviewed: 2018-11-26
Read and reviewed: 2018-11-26
January 23, 2024
Delightful. The foreward is quite a delight itself. My favorite - an "unkindness" of ravens.
October 5, 2022
Beautiful Brian Wildsmith colorful illustrations of thirteen bird species depicting their collective noun group. I especially liked the illustration for the rafter of turkeys. I love learning group names for animal species.
May 29, 2008
Found this children's picture book at the Salvation Army today and picked it up for 27 cents.
It's got gorgeous, colorful watercolor (I think?)illustrations of birds and the only words are the descriptions of the groupings of birds, which are SO delightful. It took a little research for me to discover whether these descriptions really were the collective nouns for a grouping of the particular bird species or whether they were descriptions the author had made up. "A colony of penguins" sounds pretty normal, but who knew that the term for a group of ravens is an "unkindness" or that plovers make up "a congregation"?
Very cool book. I'm delighted with my new little treasure. May even share it with Eliot. :-)
It's got gorgeous, colorful watercolor (I think?)illustrations of birds and the only words are the descriptions of the groupings of birds, which are SO delightful. It took a little research for me to discover whether these descriptions really were the collective nouns for a grouping of the particular bird species or whether they were descriptions the author had made up. "A colony of penguins" sounds pretty normal, but who knew that the term for a group of ravens is an "unkindness" or that plovers make up "a congregation"?
Very cool book. I'm delighted with my new little treasure. May even share it with Eliot. :-)
September 30, 2010
The pictures in this book are gorgeous. Each one illustrates a group of birds and a collective term for them - an unkindness of ravens, a colony of penguins.
The only thing missing is a murder of crows - and who among us doesn't relish the chance to point to a group of crows and say "Murder" in deep and booming tones? - but then again, this is a kid's book.
The only thing missing is a murder of crows - and who among us doesn't relish the chance to point to a group of crows and say "Murder" in deep and booming tones? - but then again, this is a kid's book.
December 13, 2016
What a gorgeous book. (And a steal- I bought it for a whopping 10 cents.) The illustrations are some of the most beautiful I've seen in a children's book. It's a shame it isn't a more widely known title. If you ever come across it at a rummage sale or buried in a used book store, definitely pick it up.
February 25, 2012
Gorgeous... simply gorgeous! Currently looking for discarded editions of this book (and many of his others) to make wall art. Not only are his books works of art that exemplify the style of the time (late 60s, early 70s), they're also educational. Who knew that a group of swans are called a wedge?
June 26, 2008
pictures are AMAZING
March 25, 2013
Illustrations were beautiful.
April 2, 2014
a nye of pheasants!!!
October 13, 2016
Beautiful illustrations!
January 2, 2010
fantastic illustrations, love wildsmith
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews