cover image For the Birds: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson

For the Birds: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson

Peggy Thomas, illus. by Laura Jacques. Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek, $16.95 (48p) ISBN 978-1-59078-764-9

A boyhood love of birds turned into a lifelong passion for Peterson (1908–1996), an American artist, author, and activist. Birds are clearly a passion for illustrator Jacques, too; her dramatically lit, hyperreal full-bleed paintings often put various species of birds front and center, making it crystal clear why Peterson found them so captivating. Thomas provides a thorough account of Peterson’s life (and additional information in back matter), taking readers through his childhood explorations in the woods near his home in Jamestown, N.Y., to his successes as a painter and author and his later efforts to protect the habitats of birds around the globe. Ages 8–up. (Nov.)