Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines

by Caroline Arnold, Patricia J. Wynne (Illustrator)

Overview

Hovering, gliding, diving — how do birds do it? BIRDS: NATURE'S MAGNIFICENT FLYING MACHINES looks at how feathers, body structure, and wings vary from bird to bird. Readers will learn the mechanics of bird flight from takeoff to landing and discover how wing types meet the survival needs of each species. Popular science writer Caroline Arnold infuses this informative look at avian flight with her love of birds. Patricia J. Wynne's exquisitely detailed illustrations show these amazing creatures in action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781570915727
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	07/01/2003
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	406,824
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.15(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Caroline Arnold is the award-winning author of more than one hundred and forty books for children, including WIGGLE AND WAGGLE, A WARMER WORLD, and TOO HOT? TOO COLD?: KEEPING BODY TEMPERATURE JUST RIGHT. She lives in Los Angles, California.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3-6-Veteran science writer Arnold offers another winner: a clear, interesting book about how birds fly. In an easy-to-follow text, she discusses the concept of lift and how birds' wings and feathers are structured to make flight possible. She explains taking off, flapping, gliding, hovering and soaring, and steering and landing, and also describes how birds are structured for the kind of flying necessary to their way of life, with facts about how fast and how long certain species can fly. The book ends with a look at birds that can't fly as well as other animals that can, along with some facts about birds' dinosaur-age ancestor, the Archaeopteryx. Each spread contains one or two paragraphs with a large, full-color illustration as well as smaller, captioned pictures that cover such topics as bone structure and preening. The colorful artwork consistently clarifies the concepts being discussed. Many different species are depicted and identified. Excellent as a source for reports or for general-interest reading.-Sally Bates Goodroe, formerly at Harris County Public Library, Houston, TX Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

A terrific example of the best sort of science book for young readers, this focuses on one aspect of birds, their ability to fly, and examines it from all angles. We see how a bird's flight is related to its anatomy-long wings are good for soaring, for example, while short, rounded wings are good for fast turns-and how that anatomy is also related to the bird's habitat and lifestyle. Ruffled grouses don't need to soar; albatrosses do. This form-follows-function argument allows readers to extrapolate beyond the book, and more fully understand birds they might see on their own. The detailed, vibrant illustrations enhance and enliven the text; they and the lovely clear layout make this book a delight for the eye. A winner. (Nonfiction. 6-11)

Kirkus Reviews