The A to Z Book of Birds, An ABC for Young Bird Lovers

While looking at my grand-daughter's books with her it occurred to me that here, at three years old, she can identify images which bear little resemblance to the actual creatures portrayed: whale, giraffe, ostrich, etc. At the zoo she recognizes the elephant, tiger, giraffe, etc. Why, I wondered, do children's books have such simplified renderings of animals? She may not be able to read the names, but she knows a giraffe is a giraffe. Her father is an avid birder and barely wait to take her...