Ruby's Birds

WINNER of the 2020 NORTHERN LIGHTS BOOK AWARD – NATURE

Meet Ruby, a plucky young girl who uncovers the wild side of her city neighborhood with the help of a grown-up friend. When Ruby realizes there are amazing birds right in her neighborhood, her imagination takes flight. Birders have a name for the moment they get hooked—they call it their spark moment. This is the story of Ruby’s spark moment, in her very own words.

This delightful story includes a seek and find element with birds hiding on nearly every page. Information about where to find all of the birds in real life follows, plus Ruby’s tips for taking a nature walk, and how to connect with Celebrate Urban Birds, a citizen-science project at the Cornell Lab.

Realistic fiction, narrative prose, Life science context: birds, Story elements: setting: Central Park NYC, plot and character development, point of view: Ruby, female main character, Illustrations enhance meaning and tone, Comprehension strategies: Identify author's purpose, cause and effect relationships, sequence of events, and changes from beginning to end of the story. Themes: bird watching, New York City, family. Text to text, text to self and text to world connections -back matter: Birds of Central Park, About Birds at Home, Celebrate Urban Bird Project, Search and find birds from the story.