Where Does a Tiger-Heron Spend the Night?

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

This brightly colored children’s book depicts some of the dramatic
diversity found in birds. Twelve species are shown. Each has been
selected because it is remarkable in some way. The tiger-heron can hide
in the mangrove swamp. The toucan and spoonbill have remarkable bills.
The nightjar sleeps during the day. The lyrebird is an amazing mimic.
The ptarmigan changes color with the seasons.

Each bird illustration extends over two pages and two sides of a flap.
The image with the flap folded is different from the image with the flap
open. On the first page is a question, specific to the bird (e.g.,
“Why does the vulture soar overhead?”). Lift the flap on the facing
page and you will find a rhyming answer (“It’s sniffing the wind for
the scent of the dead”). This page also shows the bird engaged in the
activity in question.

The artwork in the book is beautiful. While the birds are not highly
detailed, there is enough to make them good representations, and they
are set in backgrounds that give a sense of the richness of their
environments. Although the birds’ colors are realistic, the colors of
the background settings are more imagistic. The sky, for example,
appears variously as green, bright red, purple, and pink, but the effect
is never jarring.

This is an attractive book that children will enjoy. However, because
of the flaps, which will break away with use, library copies will wear
out more quickly than standard books. Recommended.