How Birds Sleep

Thanks to Netgalley and Astra Publishing House, mineditionUS for a free digital copy.

A beautifully illustrated and educational book about birds and how they sleep. I love the number of birds it features. Plus it reads like a story while still giving great facts.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for my copy of How Birds Sleep by David Obuchowski in exchange for an honest review. It publishes March 28, 2023.
This is a fun, informative, and beautifully illustrated book! Any kid who is interested in birds will definitely want to get their hands on this one! It would make an excellent gift, or addition to any home, classroom, or school library!

I have long loved to look into the darkening sky, seeing flocks of crows flying across the city to nest for the night. I sit outside on summer evenings eagerly listening to the chatter of the birds before the magical moment when they all fall silent for the night. David Obuchowski’s “How Birds Sleep” takes readers into a world so often unseen and unknown, into the spaces where birds find sleep and shows us the many incredible ways in which they find it. With Sarah Pedry’s incredibly beautiful illustrations, you feel like you are nesting with the birds - be it in a downy nest, hanging from a tree or cresting on a warm air current. This would make a wonderful bedtime read!


Teacher Tips

* Discovery - What are the different ways that birds sleep?

* Find the listed birds on a map. 

* What kind of birds live in our neighbourhood? How do they sleep?

* How do nocturnal and diurnal birds behave and live differently from each other?

This fascinating look into the various ways birds sleep is gorgeously illustrated and full of facts for hungry young minds. The endpapers themselves showcase birds picked out as constellations in the starry sky. Each illustration shows the birds in their natural habitat as they prepare to sleep. The text talks about the different ways in which birds find a safe, warm, or cozy spot that suits their needs. They may line up on branch, or hang from it upside down. They may cuddle together in a big feathery ball in a nest, dive into a snowbank, or drift on an ocean wave. The common name, scientific name, and location for each species is noted at the bottom of the page.

Several things make this a fun and informative book to share with youngsters. It showcases a variety of birds from around the world and the incredible ways they sleep (soaring over the sea, standing on one leg, even underground). The barn owl from the first page, who is just setting off for a busy night as everyone else settles down, shows up again on the last page returning to its nest as the other birds wake and begin their day. That circular feeling of coming back to where it all started is very satisfying. Back matter includes a discussion of what sleep is, the effects of climate change on birds, and a few resources for more information about feathered friends.

It is hard to believe that this is the first picture book from this husband and wife duo, and readers can only hope that more are to come. Whether this is used as a bedtime read-aloud, or as part of a class unit on birds or animal adaptations - it is sure to capture the attention and imagination of young readers.

A wonderful book about how birds sleep? Different birds have different way of dozing off to sleep. Rest, for them, is as essential as it is for human. But birds don't sleep like humans. Out in the open, some sleep on the ground, some sleep on the trees, some sleep in the ocean, and even some sleep while still flying high. With amazing illustrations about these birds, am fascinated with how each survive the wild and have a rest.