When I look back on 2020 I hope I immediately think of August, and what a delightful month it was for reading. One of the best reading months I think I've had actually. Nearly every book I picked up was good, and most were excellent.
This will be a triple post. Be prepared for exciting new words, punk squids, and a journey to Japan.
Saturday by Oge Mora (Picture Book)
Ava and her mom have a really special Saturday routine. It's the only day Ava's mom has off and they make it count. The excitement and joy shown in the illustrations gives me a thrill like I'm heading off on an all-day Saturday adventure. Unfortunately everything goes wrong one Saturday. Does their excitement or joy dim though? Absolutely not. They make the best out of each small disaster and focus on what's most important - spending time with each other. The biggest disaster at the end was actually my favorite moment of the whole book. I won't give it away, but I think that it's a Saturday Ava will remember as one of the best Saturdays ever.
The Bird Way by Jennifer Ackerman (Adult Nonfiction)
I enjoyed every moment of this book. I learned so much about not only bird behavior, but also human behavior and I’m definitely more observant after reading it. Ackerman’s writing style is simple and engaging, with poetic observations woven throughout, much like the snakeskins flycatchers weave into their nests.
Here are my favorite moments:
* When a zebra finch nest hits a temperature above 80 degrees, mom and dad zebra finches will chirp this information to the unborn chicks, who will curtail their growth and come out smaller, which is an advantage in the heat.
* Black-capped chickadees use the “dee” part of their call to ask other birds to assist with mobbing a predator. When there are more 'dees' at the end of a black-capped chickadee's call it means that there is a "greater menace." So, if you hear a black-capped chickadee singing one dee then everything is probably a-ok. Three dees, however, roughly translates to "oh crap, oh crap, oh crap."
* Black-capped chickadees, as well as other types of birds, also use compositional syntax just like humans! For example, if the "dee" were at the beginning of the black-capped chickadee's call, it would mean something entirely different to other birds. In addition to using compositional syntax, birds are also affected by emotional contagion, which is another thing they share with humans. If one raven is disappointed by a food choice he is offered and a second raven witnesses this, the second raven's "interest in food diminishes." The first time I started thinking about emotional contagion was at a long-ago work meeting when someone said that we’re building a culture of appreciation rather than a culture of criticism. I’ve been working on it ever since that meeting, but it’s a tough thing to do, especially when I’m cranky! The word contagion definitely gives me greater pause when I’m in a fowl mood though (I couldn’t resist the pun).
* Lyrebirds have different dances for different moods. "Just as humans waltz to waltz music and salsa to salsa music...'so a lyrebird will dance a side step in time with a weird buzzing spew, spew, spew that sounds like a laser gun or 1980s video game, and then, with his tail narrowed and wings flapping, jump or bob deeply while singing his more quiet plinkety-plinkety-plinkety song.'"
* Turkey vultures help locate leaks in natural gas lines. "...Engineers figured out that if they introduced ethyl mercaptan into the line, they could locate leaks by the concentrations of turkey vultures circling above the line or sitting on the ground next to it." Why, you ask? Well, ethyl mercaptan is the same chemical that animals emit shortly after they die.
* I learned a few bizarre words and phrases I hadn’t heard prior to reading The Bird Way. The Antbird, as well as other types of birds, is kleptoparasitic, which just means that it steals food that was "caught, collected, or prepared by another." Other birds like raptors start fires so they can feast on the prey fleeing the fire. This is called pyric-carnivory. Meanwhile ducks engage in "coordinated loafing," which sounds a little like what happens with humans when the Chiefs are playing.
* When putting on a show for a potential mate, bowerbirds imitate many sounds including other birdcalls, the rasping of branches, and the rolling of thunder.
* Sparrows use cigarette butts as a nesting material, and it is believed that the "nicotine may drive away parasites..."
* Magpies hold grudges and about 10% of the males are hyperaggressive and attack people. One researcher says that, "if it were higher than that, I don't think Australia would be habitable."
* I also appreciated the moment when Ackerman wrote about externalizing internal emotions, which is something else birds have in common with humans. I am watching the TV show, Numbers, right now and there is an episode about looking for someone’s “tell” when playing poker. I realized that’s what I had been doing since I read Ackerman’s marvelous description about externalizing internal emotions. I was looking for humans’ and birds’ tells. Does this person do something when they’re happy? Yes, they sing! Ok, when they start singing, I will talk to them about cleaning up their bathroom. I also have two barred owls who have a nest in the tree outside my office window. I’ve been studying their “tells.” My favorite tell involves finding the mate. Once I’ve spotted the first owl, I pay attention to where they look up. If they’re looking up, it’s usually for their mate, who is usually no more than a few trees away. What an eye-opener for someone who isn’t the best observer!
Ackerman writes, “Just for a day I’d like to experience the world the way they do, to see leaves with ultraviolet light baked into their greens, to hear and understand the minute musical differences and quick shifts in the acoustic structure of their complex calls and songs… To witness bird behavior in its full range is to glean some perspective on our own behavior.”
Here are my favorite moments:
* When a zebra finch nest hits a temperature above 80 degrees, mom and dad zebra finches will chirp this information to the unborn chicks, who will curtail their growth and come out smaller, which is an advantage in the heat.
* Black-capped chickadees use the “dee” part of their call to ask other birds to assist with mobbing a predator. When there are more 'dees' at the end of a black-capped chickadee's call it means that there is a "greater menace." So, if you hear a black-capped chickadee singing one dee then everything is probably a-ok. Three dees, however, roughly translates to "oh crap, oh crap, oh crap."
* Black-capped chickadees, as well as other types of birds, also use compositional syntax just like humans! For example, if the "dee" were at the beginning of the black-capped chickadee's call, it would mean something entirely different to other birds. In addition to using compositional syntax, birds are also affected by emotional contagion, which is another thing they share with humans. If one raven is disappointed by a food choice he is offered and a second raven witnesses this, the second raven's "interest in food diminishes." The first time I started thinking about emotional contagion was at a long-ago work meeting when someone said that we’re building a culture of appreciation rather than a culture of criticism. I’ve been working on it ever since that meeting, but it’s a tough thing to do, especially when I’m cranky! The word contagion definitely gives me greater pause when I’m in a fowl mood though (I couldn’t resist the pun).
* Lyrebirds have different dances for different moods. "Just as humans waltz to waltz music and salsa to salsa music...'so a lyrebird will dance a side step in time with a weird buzzing spew, spew, spew that sounds like a laser gun or 1980s video game, and then, with his tail narrowed and wings flapping, jump or bob deeply while singing his more quiet plinkety-plinkety-plinkety song.'"
* Turkey vultures help locate leaks in natural gas lines. "...Engineers figured out that if they introduced ethyl mercaptan into the line, they could locate leaks by the concentrations of turkey vultures circling above the line or sitting on the ground next to it." Why, you ask? Well, ethyl mercaptan is the same chemical that animals emit shortly after they die.
* I learned a few bizarre words and phrases I hadn’t heard prior to reading The Bird Way. The Antbird, as well as other types of birds, is kleptoparasitic, which just means that it steals food that was "caught, collected, or prepared by another." Other birds like raptors start fires so they can feast on the prey fleeing the fire. This is called pyric-carnivory. Meanwhile ducks engage in "coordinated loafing," which sounds a little like what happens with humans when the Chiefs are playing.
* When putting on a show for a potential mate, bowerbirds imitate many sounds including other birdcalls, the rasping of branches, and the rolling of thunder.
* Sparrows use cigarette butts as a nesting material, and it is believed that the "nicotine may drive away parasites..."
* Magpies hold grudges and about 10% of the males are hyperaggressive and attack people. One researcher says that, "if it were higher than that, I don't think Australia would be habitable."
* I also appreciated the moment when Ackerman wrote about externalizing internal emotions, which is something else birds have in common with humans. I am watching the TV show, Numbers, right now and there is an episode about looking for someone’s “tell” when playing poker. I realized that’s what I had been doing since I read Ackerman’s marvelous description about externalizing internal emotions. I was looking for humans’ and birds’ tells. Does this person do something when they’re happy? Yes, they sing! Ok, when they start singing, I will talk to them about cleaning up their bathroom. I also have two barred owls who have a nest in the tree outside my office window. I’ve been studying their “tells.” My favorite tell involves finding the mate. Once I’ve spotted the first owl, I pay attention to where they look up. If they’re looking up, it’s usually for their mate, who is usually no more than a few trees away. What an eye-opener for someone who isn’t the best observer!
Ackerman writes, “Just for a day I’d like to experience the world the way they do, to see leaves with ultraviolet light baked into their greens, to hear and understand the minute musical differences and quick shifts in the acoustic structure of their complex calls and songs… To witness bird behavior in its full range is to glean some perspective on our own behavior.”
123: Early Learning at the Museum (Board Book)
This is a great storytime book because there's not only counting but also lots of moments to ask kids and grown-ups questions about colors, patterns, and what something looks like or what we think something is. This book opens doors in so many ways and it's incredibly beautiful and easy to get lost in.
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