For the Birds

Gr 3–5—Lifetime bird enthusiast and eventual author of numerous field guides, Peterson makes an impressive subject in this picture-book biography. Thomas starts with her subject's youth (he loved the outdoors and preferred the company of animals to other children) and follows chronologically to his death at 87 in 1996. The text is clear and lively. As a boy he went to his town's city hall to explain that he could not possibly be home by the 8:45 curfew because he was studying moths. The chief of police signed a permit allowing him to be out until 11. Full-page, gorgeous, and uncaptioned illustrations draw readers' eyes away from the text. One painting shows young Peterson about to poke a seemingly clueless bird. Turn the page, and the yellow winged flicker bursts across the spread, flying off to safety. One scene shows him in Brooklyn, NY, observing a raptor carrying a hapless, tiny rodent in its talon. Small, black on white silhouettes adapted from Peterson's guides are also shown. Further biographical information, touching on such things as his three marriages, is appended, along with a note on The Peterson Effect, which helped people better appreciate the plight of birds and other animals. Thomas's prose and Jacques's art work in tandem to rescue Peterson from obscurity for this age range.—Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI