As the E-A-G-L-E-S fly into the Big Game this weekend, we’ve pulled together a sampling of bird-related books for good luck. Use these as conversation-starters at the snack station, or an alternative activity if you’re not into the football thing!
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
In Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott again offers sage advice for those seeking life’s truths. Here’s a taste of her anecdotal style: “Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is on school reading lists across the nation. Whether you’ve already read it dozens of times or you’ve been skating by on the SparkNotes version since high school, now is the time to dive deeper into the autobiography about the early years of Angelou’s purpose-filled life. Centering on themes of identity, strength, race and trauma, this first book in Angelou’s seven-book autobiographical series is deeply poetic and altogether transforms the traditional American memoir format.
Stellaluna
After falling headfirst into a bird’s nest, baby bat Stellaluna is raised like a bird until she is reunited with her mother. First airing on PBS’s Reading Rainbow in 1994, Stellaluna by Jannell Cannon offers children lessons in friendship and acceptance.
What is your favorite animal-related book? Share with us in the comments below!
