Illustration by Nancy Lane from A Warbler's Journey, by Scott Weidensaul

These titles will help budding naturalists explore the world of birds, along with aspects of SEL (social and emotional learning), from persistence to making friends.

Bird books that showcase social and emotional skills

In these stories, birds take on human traits—talking and creating unlikely friendships—or demonstrate devotion, persistence, and strength in their natural settings.

PreS – Gr 3:

Scoot: A Tiny New York Bird with a Great Big Idea, by Fran Manushkin. Illus. by Bruce Degen. Holiday House. 2022. A sparrow named Scoot helps a flock of migrating birds navigate their way through the confusing lights and mirrored windows of New York City. Told with bright illustrations and playfully alliterative dialogue between the bird and his friends, the story presents the challenges faced by birds traveling through urban areas.

Feathers Together, by Caron Levis. Illus. by Charles Santoso. Harry N. Abrams. 2022. This is the true story of two white storks that, with the help of one man, winter apart but reunite every spring for 19 years. The story illustrates both compassion and commitment and is interjected with caring dialogue between the stork pair.

We Are Starlings: Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of a Murmuration, by Robert Furrow and Donna Jo Napoli. Illus. by Marc Martin. Random House Studio. 2023. Narrated by starlings, this visual tale builds from a small group to thousands of birds who swirl together in the sky because each one is aware of its nearby neighbors. Brief text about starling murmuration, in which they all fly in unison, is included in the backmatter.

Numenia and the Hurricane: Inspired by a True Migration Story, by Fiona Halliday. Page Street Kids. 2020. Short poetic stanzas coupled with rich descriptive text and vibrant illustrations relate the true migration story of a lanky shore bird called a whimbrel. Back matter includes more about the story as well as a short bibliography.

PreS – Gr 2:

Catching Flight: Soaring on the Wings of Birds, by Rebekah Lowell. Doubleday Books for Young Readers. 2023. Positive messages about 10 different birds highlight analogies that will inspire readers. Back matter provides facts about each species.

The Winter Bird, by Kate Banks. Illus. by Suzie Mason. Candlewick. 2022. Unable to migrate south with its flock, a lone nightingale with a broken wing is cared for by a community of anthropomorphized forest animals.

Gr 3 – 5:

Is This Panama?: A Migration Story, by Jan Thornhill. Illus. by Soyeon Kim. Owlkids. 2021. A young warbler, left behind as winter migration begins, stops to ask directions of other migrating animals he meets on his journey south. Extensive backmatter includes maps, a list of the animals he talks to along the way and information about why animals migrate.

Gr 3 – 7:

Coo, by Kaela Noel. Greenwillow Books. 2021. In this warm, endearing work of fiction, a young girl leaves the only family she’s ever known—a flock of rooftop pigeons—to live on the ground among humans. Her unique ability to communicate with the birds and understand threats to the flock reveals pigeons’ intelligence and connection to urban environments.

Books about children, birds, and SEL skills

These stories feature characters that model SEL areas of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.

PreS and up:

Ruby's Birds, by Mya Thompson. Illus. by Claudia Dávila. Cornell Lab Publishing Group. 2019. This picture book features a young person sharing how to take a nature walk while looking and listening for birds and also challenges readers to find different birds depicted in the illustrations.

PreS – K:

The Mystery of the Golden Feather: A Mindful Journey Through Birdsong, by Tessa Strickland. Illus. by Clara Anganuzzi. DK Children. 2023. Through an intergenerational friendship, a young boy learns how to listen to birds. This story, an intentional presentation of birding as a social and emotional learning activity, is followed by instructions for practicing mindfulness using sensory awareness and connections with nature.

PreS – Gr 2:

Sparrow Loves Birds, by Murry Burgess. Illus. by Tamisha Anthony. Christy Ottaviano Books. 2024. A young girl named Sparrow keeps a notebook about the birds she hears and sees, using her senses and awareness to interact with nature.

PreS – Gr 3:

Lights Out: A Movement to Help Migrating Birds, by Jessica Stremer. Illus. by Bonnie Pang. Simon & Schuster. 2024. When a flock of birds gets lost among the bright lights of city buildings during their night migration, a girl intervenes to help them on their way.

Bird Count, by Susan Edwards Richmond. Illus. by Stephanie Fizer Coleman. Peachtree. 2021. A young girl and her mother join the Christmas Bird Count and a community celebration afterwards. Readers will learn about citizen science and the bird count through both the narrative and the illustrations, which show portions of her notebook. Details about the birds she observes and the national Christmas Bird Count follow the story.

K – Gr 5:

A Sky That Sings, by Anita Sanchez and George Steele. Illus. by Emily Mendoza. Lee & Low Books. 2025. A young blind girl accompanies her teacher on a listening walk as the girl shares her favorite ways to identify the birds in their environment.

Gr 1 – 2:

A Warbler's Journey, by Scott Weidensaul. Illus. by Nancy Lane. The Gryphon Press. 2022. Beautiful illustrations capture the amazing migration of one yellow warbler as its journey intersects with families in Nicaragua, along the Gulf Coast, and finally among the Łutsël K'é Dene First Nations in Canada. Backmatter lists ways to help warblers and other migratory birds.

Gr 3 – 7:

The Secret Language of Birds, by Lynne Kelly. Delacorte Press. 2024. A 13-year-old girl finds a pair of rare nesting cranes near her summer camp and gathers information about the birds to uncover the mystery of why they are there.

Birds on the Brain, by Uma Krishnaswami. Illus. Julianna Swaney. Groundwood Books 2024. Set in India, this short novel features a school-aged bird enthusiast who becomes an activist as she learns city officials are trying to cancel participation in the annual Global Bird Count. Themes of positive family support, community engagement, and personal growth add depth to the story.

Wild Wings, by Gill Lewis. Illus. by Yuta Onoda. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2012. Connected by their desire to protect a rare osprey as it migrates from Scotland to Africa, a group of children rely on technology and their communities to make certain the bird has the help it needs to complete the journey. Middle-grade social struggles and lyric descriptions of nature make for meaningful discussions.

Bird Nerd, by Jennifer Ann Richter. Holiday House. 2024. This middle-grade novel infuses important facts about birds and birdwatching with a lively story of rivalry and social challenges, set in a middle-grade classroom and urban community. 

Gr 4 – 7:

Twitch, by M. G. Leonard. Walker Books Ltd. 2021. People familiar with British terms and phrases will feel right at home beside the young protagonist in the first of an award-winning series as he uses his love of birdwatching to help solve a mystery.

A Bird Will Soar, by Alison Green Myers. Dutton Books for Young Readers. 2021. The behavioral habits of birds become a metaphor for challenging family situations in the life of a young autistic person who engages in avian advocacy and conservation in his community.

Interior from Follow the Flyway: The Marvel of Bird Migration

Noteworthy picture books about bird migration

Illustrated nonfiction takes on a literary flair through poetry and stories that use language and visual arts to present facts about birds.

PreS – Gr 2
Tiny Tern Takes Flight, by Donna B. McKinney. Illus. by Fiona Osbaldstone. Science, Naturally!. 2024. Poetic language pairs with compelling artwork to highlight one bird’s challenges as it takes on what is believed to be the longest migration of any animal on the planet. Several pages of back matter include labeled illustrations, charts, and descriptions of the arctic to Antarctic journey of this tiny but determined bird.

PreS – Gr 3
Snow Birds: A Picture Book, by Kirsten Hall. Illus. by Jenni Desmond. Harry N. Abrams. 2020. Double-page spreads with poetic text incorporated into illustrations highlight a variety of resilient birds that do not migrate during winters.

PreS – Gr 4:
Follow the Flyway: The Marvel of Bird Migration, by Sarah Nelson and Maya Hanisch. Barefoot Books. 2023. A variety of bird species are featured in appealing two-page visuals with energetically presented facts nestled among the illustrations. More dense backmatter provides details about North American birds and their flight paths.

Gr 1 – 2:
Tiny Bird: A Hummingbird's Amazing Journey, by Robert Burleigh. Illus. by Wendell Minor. Henry Holt and Co. 2020. Narrative nonfiction is presented in spare stanzas of information complemented by simple, realistic visuals. Easy-to-understand sketches and infographics accompany the narrative.

Tiffany Coulson is a curriculum designer and research librarian for Altera, an educational nonprofit.