From the time I was young, I loved to go nature walking to see birds, and so I was really excited to read this book. This book has beautiful illustrations and fun, cool facts about birds. The author includes both birds children may already be familiar with and new birds they may not have heard of but can learn about in this book. The book is written in a way so that it could be read by parents to children or read by children themselves. Children who love to draw could use this book as a guide to draw their favorite birds. This book could be used both as a bedtime story book and as a general use book. Overall, I liked that this book was both educational and fun.

I received a free temporary copy of this book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I thought this book was a good nonfiction read. The illustrations were wonderful; I loved the use of textures and layers to make the bird feel real with a touch of whimsy. I thought there were some points of improvement. I wasn’t a fan of how some pages rhymed while most didn’t—it took me out of the flow of a read-aloud. Another improvement I would suggest is making the font more distinct between the main text and the added facts. I do like all the descriptive words used on each page, but I think if the book played with the typography a little more, it would be more engaging and wouldn’t feel so much like run-on sentences.

Thank you, NetGalley, Constance Anderson, and Star Bright Books, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful book about birds! This is a huge group of animals, and this book highlights the uniqueness and sameness of various birds.

Since their ancestral dinosaur days, birds have proven that adaptations are essential for survival. Birds hold general features that distinguish them from other animals – they all lay eggs, have feathers and a pair of wings, yet they are rich with unique characteristics that make them stand out from one another. Their variations in plumage, wing design, nest structures, breeding grounds, eggs and hatchlings are amazingly vast. Their beaks and language give insight into their communal, behavioral and physical world. With expanding pouch-like beaks they scoop up food, and with tweezers-like bills catch prey. Their bills also influence their language, such as when the woodpecker creates a tat-a-tat sound on a tree bark to claim territory or call for a mate. Birds’ unique vocal organ allows them to sing solo, in duet or in chorus. Accompanied by dancing, humming, and the clacking of beaks they attract others, protect themselves and display health. The ability to walk, run, perch, paddle and more gives some birds the capacity to operate on land or in water, as well as in the air. This content-rich resource is designed in sections that highlight adaptions by providing specific examples of birds and their variations. It is accompanied by colorful and carefully designed illustrations that provide a detailed examination of birds and observations of their characteristics. Supplemental information is included at the end of the book, and an author’s note promotes recommendations to advocate for the protection of birds and their populations. Reading recommended for ages 4 and up.

There is so much fun information about birds in So Many Ways to Be a Bird! I love bird watching, and this picture book is full of fascinating bird facts. I enjoyed reading about the different birds and the characteristics that make them unique and perfectly suited to their habitats. The illustrations are colorful and engaging. One can enjoy this picture book by reading the main narrative, or pause and also read the interesting facts placed near the illustration of each bird. Budding nature explorers and young bird watchers will love reading So Many Ways to Be a Bird!

Beautiful picture book that shows what it means to be a bird! From shelters, to food, to flight, there are many adaptations birds make to live in their environment. Additional information is included at the end.

This is an eye-catching introduction to the world of bird diversity for young readers. The artwork is evocative and attractive, and the accompanying text is simple yet informative.

Very educational book about birds. This would be awesome for a bit of an older child as it is filled with lots of great facts. The illustrations are incredibly realistic!

A wonderful book explaining all of the different types of birds in an entertaining and colorful way. Great for the grade level. I love how there’s one or two sentences for each and then little off-chutes of facts for specific birds within that topic (feathers, beaks, communication, types of eggs etc.)

We loved this book!

I am a huge fan of birds and started going birdwatching with my Dad when I was young so this book was definitely one that I wanted to read with my daughter after reading the book blurb.

"So Many Ways to Be a Bird" is a fun book, it showcases the differences between the species, different sizes, food to eat, different postures, poses and beak types - this book is really engaging and made my 7 year old daughter want to read more and find out additional information about the birds she can see where we live as a starting point - it has certainly lit a fire in her and she wants to go out this weekend to find more birds!

It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

"So Many Ways to Be a Bird" by Constance Anderson is a very informative and engaging children's book about birds. The beautifully illustrated books will help kids learn about birds and hopefully spark an interest in birding. Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

Know about “bird adaptations” from this book!

The book is a good beginner guide for the kids to know about different birds and their habitats where they thrive.

Love the minimal illustrations and the additional information towards the end.

Thank you, Star Bright Books, for the ARC.

Even birders with a Life List have to love this book for its simplicity and ease of use to explain or just show to non-birders of any age! You don't have to do the whole book at once but use as a learning tool to learn to find birds with similar characteristics or habits. People of any age whether handicapped or not need outside time and even blindness is not a barrier to enjoying the birds and helping to protect their habitat.
The illustrations by the author are clear, easily recognizable, imaginative, colorful, and fun.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to EVERYONE, but especially to a school, hospital, or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC on Adobe Digital Editions from Star Bright Books via NetGalley. Thank you! Pub Date Nov 01, 2024

I love reading about the ways birds are the same and different. It gave interesting facts on so many aspects of bird life, but in a way that will really peak the interest of my students. I especially like the part about the different characteristics birds have.

The information, details and illustrations are amazing. I read with young children and this would be a bit lengthy for their attention span but wonderful for upper elementary. It would be a great source for a student to learn and write a report on birds. I would like to thank the author, Bright Star Books and NetGalley for a digital copy.

So many is right! This book has so many facts and illustrations and BIRDS! It was a little overwhelming to read all of that on each page, but it was all good information that will benefit older picture book readers.

Great introduction to the adaptations of birds, my kids loved it. Beautiful illustrations, cool facts and great comparisons that could be understood by everyone. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free preview of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

So Many Ways To Be A Bird isn't just the perfect book to read with any young child who loves the outdoors but it's also perfect to read with a little one you'd like to encourage to slow down and take a moment to notice their surroundings. Filled with images and information on many of the common birds that we see every day, this book teaches us who the birds are and what they're like. We also learn about birds that we may only see in zoos and why they're special too. I would recommend this book for children ages 3-10, which is a big age range but it's an excellent reference book for older elementary students if they need to look up something basic.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this free ARC.

A Peck-tacular Guide to the World of Birds!

I read "So Many Ways to Be a Bird" by Constance Anderson with my nature loving 6 year old, and boy did we enjoy it!

It is a perfect blend of vivid illustrations and fascinating bird facts. It imparted intriguing tidbits about the lives of different birds, whilst also capturing the beauty of our feathered friends in the book's illustrations. This book was a perfect read for young nature enthusiasts and was both entertaining and educational! My son was fascinated by the different types of nests that birds built (who knew some nests float?) and also loved comparing the egg sizes of different birds.

We will definitely be revisiting "So Many Ways to Be a Bird" time and time again, and we highly recommend it to all budding bird enthusiasts! All in all, a peck-tacular introduction to the world of birds for young readers.

Thank you NetGalley and Star Bright Books for sending us this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A book that does actually talk about the diversity it is supposed to do – this is not, as some may fear, an allegory for something else entirely different. Here we see the adaptation (a good start, but you could call it, and explain, evolution, rather than stick to the one term) birds have gone through since the days of their prehistoric ancestors. They sing differently, and in different numbers, they have different feet, colours, bills, and so on, and we see all of this, one small simple subject at a time. It's not that great a book, however – the main text is trying its best to rhyme a lot of the time, and succeeds when it bothers to but doesn't seem to worry about it on the other pages. Also, while you get the nicely readable, bold font of the main script, you also get a smaller set of italicised captions, and they really can pull focus and interrupt the flow. So there's nothing to gripe about as if it were heinous, but large reasons why this isn't destined to be the be-and and end-all of this subject.