Spit & Sticks
By Marilyn Grohoske Evans
Illustrated by Nicole Gsell
By Marilyn Grohoske Evans
Illustrated by Nicole Gsell
By Marilyn Grohoske Evans
Illustrated by Nicole Gsell
By Marilyn Grohoske Evans
Illustrated by Nicole Gsell
Category: Children's Nonfiction
Category: Children's Nonfiction
-
$17.99
Sep 29, 2015 | ISBN 9781580895880 | 3-7 years
-
Sep 29, 2015 | ISBN 9781607347705 | 3-7 years
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Bearplane!
Llama Llama Red Pajama and 19 Other Favorites
What Does Little Crocodile Say At the Park?
My Very First Book of Motion
My Very First Book of Animal Homes
The Fuzzy Duckling: Read & Listen Edition
Praise
While a pair of swifts raises a family in their chimney, a Texas family grows as well.
The straightforward text in Evans’ first picture book follows a family of swifts from the pair’s return to the chimney of the farmhouse where they were born through nest-building, egg-laying and hatching, and feeding their chicks, who eventually fledge, fly, and feed themselves. In fall, the birds take off, joining a swarm of swifts heading for their winter home in the Southern Hemisphere. This simple narrative focuses exclusively on the birds, but it is mirrored by the activities of the mixed-race farming family shown in artfully primitive watercolor illustrations (with collage elements). One page shows the birds building their nest inside the chimney; opposite, the human father and daughter construct a crib while the visibly pregnant mother knits. While the birds “snuggle close” on the eggs, the human father reads to his daughter on his lap. A striking double-page spread shows the chicks emerging from their eggs. On the next pages, “It’s a Boy” balloons fly from the farmhouse mailbox. Throughout the summer the baby grows ever more capable, just as the chicks do. An endnote includes further information about swifts and suggestions for readers to learn more and help preserve these interesting birds.
A clever connection to the natural world for young readers and listeners.
–Kirkus Reviews
A biracial family of three prepares to welcome a new baby boy while swifts nesting in the chimney of their quaint Texas country home raise their own fledglings. In calming prose, debut author Evans keeps the narrative focus on the birds (“Chittering, the fledglings jubilantly feast and frolic, consuming tons of insects”), letting the human family’s story play out silently in Gsell’s soft, loose watercolors, which include digitally collaged elements. Together, Evans and Gsell convey the quiet intersection of human an animal life, while an endnote offers more detailed information about the migration of chimney swifts.
-Publishers Weekly
One spring in Texas, a chimney swift flies back from South America to the farmhouse where it was born. In the chimney, the swift and its mate build a nest, and the female lays three white eggs. Three weeks later, they hatch. Eating all the insects their parents can bring them, the young birds grow up quickly, and soon they are trying their wings and flying about the farm with their family. In early winter, the swifts join a flock flying southward. The text is simple and informative, but it tells only part of the story in this appealing offering. Created with broad brushstrokes of watercolor and including digital elements, the vivid illustrations also show people on the farm: a father, mother, little girl, and (around the time the swifts’ eggs hatch) new baby brother. There’s little direct interplay between the human and avian families, which is realistic. But those scenes, such as the father and daughter waving at the fledgling birds, become a rewarding part of the visual narrative. An engaging, informational picture book.
–Booklist
Awards
Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices SELECTION 2016
NSTA-CBC – Outstanding Science Trade Book SELECTION 2016
21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
Just for joining you’ll get personalized recommendations on your dashboard daily and features only for members.
Find Out More Join Now Sign In