A NEW YORK TIMES/NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOK • A stunning picture book for young nature lovers about starlings and the fascinating phenomenon of murmurations. Illustrated by the award-winning artist Marc Martin, this book about the natural world vividly explores how such an enigma is even possible.
Sweeping, diving, twisting, turning. To look up at a murmuration of starlings is an experience like no other. Hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of starlings fly together as one flock. The group ripples, whirls, and waves as each bird stays close to its neighbors in a harmonious synchronicity of movement.
The story is told from the point of view of the flock, which gives the reader an inside look at what is happening, and the breathtaking illustrations perfectly capture the ebb and flow of a murmuration. Young readers will witness and fully appreciate the extraordinary communication and collaboration abilities of these birds and may be able to apply these lessons to their own lives.
★ "This book answers so many questions about the formations starlings create against the sky without taking away the wonder. It’s stunning." —School Library Journal, starred review
★ "Starlings fill and overflow the pages, swooping in gorgeous waves across the double-page spreads." —The Horn Book, starred review
★ "Voicing a collective identity through the first-person plural “we,” starlings perform a fractal air ballet in this spare look at the species’ movements." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A good introduction to starling murmurations." —Kirkus Reviews
"There is an exquisite sense of movement and scale as the dazzling murmurations seem to dance across the spreads." —Booklist
A NEW YORK TIMES/NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOK • A stunning picture book for young nature lovers about starlings and the fascinating phenomenon of murmurations. Illustrated by the award-winning artist Marc Martin, this book about the natural world vividly explores how such an enigma is even possible.
Sweeping, diving, twisting, turning. To look up at a murmuration of starlings is an experience like no other. Hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of starlings fly together as one flock. The group ripples, whirls, and waves as each bird stays close to its neighbors in a harmonious synchronicity of movement.
The story is told from the point of view of the flock, which gives the reader an inside look at what is happening, and the breathtaking illustrations perfectly capture the ebb and flow of a murmuration. Young readers will witness and fully appreciate the extraordinary communication and collaboration abilities of these birds and may be able to apply these lessons to their own lives.
Praise
★ "This book answers so many questions about the formations starlings create against the sky without taking away the wonder. It’s stunning." —School Library Journal, starred review
★ "Starlings fill and overflow the pages, swooping in gorgeous waves across the double-page spreads." —The Horn Book, starred review
★ "Voicing a collective identity through the first-person plural “we,” starlings perform a fractal air ballet in this spare look at the species’ movements." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A good introduction to starling murmurations." —Kirkus Reviews
"There is an exquisite sense of movement and scale as the dazzling murmurations seem to dance across the spreads." —Booklist
