Help with research for a childrens picturebook (1 Viewer)

Hi guys,
I'm doing some research for a children's illustrated picturebook that I'm currently working on and was recommended this forum by a blog I reached out to. My book follows a birdwatcher travelling to various locations to look at birds. In part, the book is designed to be educational with facts about various birds interspersed throughout. The core idea of the book though is that our character observes these birds and relates the behaviour he sees in the birds to his own human experience and considers the way he is living based on what he sees in these birds.
So, I was wondering if you guys have any thoughts. For one thing, what are some stereotypical tropes or conceptions surrounding birdwatchers that I should try to avoid and conversely, what are some good attributes found in birdwatchers to include in my own character. What are some good beginner birds that birdwatchers seek out and what are some of the more unusual and exciting looking ones (after all, it is a book for children and I want it to be colourful and fun). Any ideas about birds with unusual behavioural patterns too?
Any input you guys can give me would be a huge help! I'm still fairly early in the process.

Welcome to BirdForum. That sounds like an interesting book.

One idea I'd suggest is to look at migratory birds e.g. things like Swallows, Swifts or Cuckoos. They're interesting birds in lots of ways but maybe the idea of migration is quite a good theme for the book that you could bring out with them. Not sure if it's the direction you're going in but you could use it to make a connection between things that go on around us that connect us to far flung parts of the world e.g. the fate of the Swifts that nest in your roof is also bound up with the lives they lead as they migrate to Africa and back. That sort of idea could connect to lots of things people do in their lives too, e.g. travelling, migrating themselves, and also things like the food we eat often being from distant parts of the world.

IAMSEB said:

Hi guys,
I'm doing some research for a children's illustrated picturebook that I'm currently working on and was recommended this forum by a blog I reached out to. My book follows a birdwatcher travelling to various locations to look at birds. In part, the book is designed to be educational with facts about various birds interspersed throughout. The core idea of the book though is that our character observes these birds and relates the behaviour he sees in the birds to his own human experience and considers the way he is living based on what he sees in these birds.
So, I was wondering if you guys have any thoughts. For one thing, what are some stereotypical tropes or conceptions surrounding birdwatchers that I should try to avoid and conversely, what are some good attributes found in birdwatchers to include in my own character. What are some good beginner birds that birdwatchers seek out and what are some of the more unusual and exciting looking ones (after all, it is a book for children and I want it to be colourful and fun). Any ideas about birds with unusual behavioural patterns too?
Any input you guys can give me would be a huge help! I'm still fairly early in the process.

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Is this just UK, or wider afield? It would of course be easy (and stereotypical in a children's book!) to go for exotics like parrot and penguins!

Stereotypes to avoid - hmmm, none of course
Good birder attributes include - patience, curiosity, perseverance etc

Waders are very good - their bills (and names) indicate interesting food preference habits like Turnstone and Oystercatcher - industriousness etc

Also Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker, Kestrel, Barn Owl, Jay (caching acorns for later) etc etc

Probably most any bird to be honest!!

btw - what age group? Lots of words and illustrations?

Visiting 'places', or 'general habitats' for specific birds? Throughout a year, or non-time specific?

Do any ideas/info given result in a share of the royalties ?




Chosun :gh:

Good habits in (most!) birders to promote with kids would be care for the countryside and our environment (no littering, recycling etc), curiosity about nature in general not just birds, appreciation of the change in the seasons and what you might see when, appreciation of the change in habitat and what you might see where.
Common birds kids start seeing might be robins, blue tits, great tits, long tailed tits, goldfinches; then they might become aware of wrens, bullfinches, greenfinches, dunnocks and the different thrushes. After that young birders realize they have to go to more specialized habitats than gardens or parks to see particular things, like fast clean streams for dippers and grey wagtails, coastal walks for stonechats etc.
Another unusual skill of birders is that they tend to have pretty good peripheral vision I think. This is probably learned rather than innate - they see more things and more quickly than none birders in my experience.
Paul

Hi

I have only been birding for a couple of years. If you are thinking of the U.K. Can I recommend the water rail and/or the bittern. They are not uncommon, but they are very shy and you hear them all the time before seeing them. They both have really unusual calls, the rail sounds like a squealing pig and the bittern has a really loud boom. It is really exciting for a newcomer when you finally see your first one! They both live on the margins of wet lands so interesting habitat too.

Julie

It is a good idea to write something what a child can readily replicate. For example, put a nest box, bird feeder, or perhaps try to count birds seen in the garden/schoolyard/on the way to school.

About behavior, herring gulls flying to a feeding place and back to the roost always reminded me of people commuting to work/school. And as a child, I was always fascinated how much nature can be found in little 'forgotten' corners in the cities: bushy places in parks, edges of canals, unused parcels etc.

A good trait about bird watchers you could include is their willingness to share their knowledge - details of where birds (and other wildlife) have been seen, and helping others to identify the birds they have seen. Both common sights at nature reserves.

What great project. One idea could be to explore why people go birdwatching? What clicked from watching birds in the garden to becoming an ambition. For me it was seeing a picture of a hoopoe in thornburns birds book. I just had to go out and see one. Little did I know as an eleven year old it would take me about 45 years to do so! Even well into middle age when I finally caught up with one the thrill was immense and reminded me why I started in the first place. Like the idea of exploring specialisms and evolutionary adaptations which could be done simply I'd probing bills, woodpeckers etc

The core idea of the book though is that our character observes these birds and relates the behaviour he sees in the birds to his own human experience and considers the way he is living based on what he sees in these birds.

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To be honest I find this a slightly complicated approach for a children's picture book.
So, a child sees a lot of starlings scrapping for bread crumbs on the lawn. He thinks, how greedy they are? But does he also think: the one who uses the most aggression gets the most food. Is that the lesson that you want the child to draw. Presumably not. But birds are instinctive creatures. They don't have a rational side that makes them consider whether 'every bird for himself' is the best model for starling behaviour. I'm not trying to knock your idea - just point out that it could be quite challenging to develop.
Either way, best of luck.

What a nice idea, I think it is important to introduce children to nature from a young age, and this would be a really good way to do that. Regarding your questions
Bad Stereotypes - I think the main one is that many see birders as being 'boring' and birding itself as mundane. I think you should show how it is infact rewarding, interesting and reflective; it just requires an awful lot of patience sometimes!
Good Stereotypes - Curious, patient, knowledgeable
When it comes to the birds I would suggest perhaps these?
Kestrels - relatively common, so children might have already seen them. They hunt by hovering persistently, which is quite an impressive example of patience.
Swifts - again common summer birds, they hardly ever land in there lifetimes, only to nest. I think children would find them very fascinating, and they could be a symbol for travelling and going to new places.
Lapwing - very pretty birds, and the adults do a 'distraction display' when their chicks are in danger, where the lure the predator's attention to themselves by pretending to be injured. Maybe a bit much for a children's book, but I think this is a good example of how we protect the ones we love and such.

Hope this helps and good luck