I applaud the idea of showing children that they can do something that makes a difference. However, the text is pretty boring for the picture book age group. Maybe adults should take the text as a guideline of concepts they can discuss while they look at the pictures with the children. My grandkids spent post time on the inside cover illustrations, seeing which birds they already knew, finding how many of each of the different birds (which I would name, if they didn't know), etc. And since they'd already read "Owl Moon" we talked about how the author was part of that book.
I appreciated that the artist pictured people of some different races in the city scenes, the world map, and the photo of "you can count too" ( )

I loved everything about this book. I loved the illustrations. I loved the photos and extra information, I loved the true story, I loved the conservation & protection and anti-hunting message, I loved how the author knows of what she writes, and I loved finding out who the author was daughter of the children’s books author Jane Yolen and a father who introduced her to owl calling, and who appeared as the little girl in the book Owl Moon

I learned a lot. I hadn’t known anything about Frank Chapman or the origins of the Audubon Society or their now worldwide Christmas Bird Count. This makes for a great Christmas book or any time of year book.

That’s all I’m writing because if I go on it will sound like hyperbole. There was nothing about this book I didn’t like. I highly recommend this to all children and their adults, especially if they love birds and/or nature and/or if they might like to participate in the annual bird count or other activism work or projects. Gift worthy picture book. 5 full stars.

On a sad note not directly related to this book but something that Frank Chapman would have cared about is what climate change is doing to birds. I’ve read many alarming articles about our sixth mass extinction event but here are just links as a result of a general search:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=birds&as_epq=climate+change&amp... ( )

Counting Birds is a story about something I had no idea about. It starts by telling us the story of Frank Chapman and his disgust at the annual Christmas tradition of going outside and shooting as many birds as you could for fun. This was back in the late 1800s and early 1900s when people were beginning to think about conservation. He came up with an idea to stop the killing of the birds, but preserving "the hunt". He published it in his magazine, Bird-Lore, which is now the Audubon Magazine. His idea of an annual "bird count" has since developed into a worldwide conservation project organized by the Audubon Society. This book celebrates the joy of discovery and conservation of our feathered friends, while enjoying and appreciating them in the wild. The last few pages gives information on how the bird count works, and how the average citizen can participate. One interesting tidbit, if you ever read Owl Moon by Jane Yolen about calling owls, this book is written by her daughter, the young girl in that story. There is a brief biography of Frank Chapman at the back, a hero to animals, that I had never heard of before. The story is accompanied by great illustrations, including many of the birds counted, and would interest anyone who loves animals,especially birds. This would make a great addition to a family, public or school library. What a great project for a family to take on together. The publisher, Seagrass Press, provided me with a copy of this book to read. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.
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AHHHHHH. This is written by Jane Yolen’s daughter. As in the writer of Owl Moon’s daughter. It’s about Frank Chapman and his quest to stop Christmas bird hunts, and bring about Christmas Bird Counts. The tradition continues today through the Audubon Society. The author Heidi has been involved since she was a child. This book is part story about Frank Chapman, and part non-fiction about how any reader can get involved, how the author got involved, and why these annual counts matter. The illustrations are great, and overall, I love this book. Even if I didn’t know it was connected to Owl Moon, I would still love it. ( )

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. ( )