Picture books are my all-time favorite genre! Especially because of the wide variety of ways they present factual information. Have a look at AVIARY WONDERS, INC. by Kate Samworth (Clarion Books, 2014) and you’ll know exactly what I mean. The subtitle, “Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual” gives a hint at what lies between the covers of this fabulous book.

I can’t do it justice here, but what I love about AVIARY WONDERS is that it is so unlike other picture books about topics that are –  or appear to be, as is the case with this book – nonfiction. The premise – a catalog of birds and bird parts, organized by function – is quite imaginative. Laid out like a holiday catalog, readers will find a visual encyclopedia of fascinating birds and bird parts – wings, bodies, beaks, etc,

Perfect for kids who love DK books and other illustrated nonfiction or fiction, AVIARY WONDERS (winner of the 2014 Kirkus Young Readers’ Prize) is a book well worth adding to  a classroom, library, or bookstore collection.