Bird Builds a Nest

In this kickoff to the First Science Storybook series, author and biologist Jenkins follows a bird as it builds its nest, but his real goal is to explore the concepts of force and gravity (which are discussed in an introductory note to parents). Drab shades of rust, brown, and pale blue-green lend a sense of calm to Jones’s flattened and slightly abstracted mixed-media images. The bird constructs its nest by pushing and pulling twigs together, then fills it with “softer things” such as feathers and grass: “Can you guess what it’s waiting for? Eggs!” Closing questions invite readers to revisit the book with the concepts of pushing and pulling in mind: “Can you find some places in the book where Bird pushes something?” It’s a neat way for readers to see science fundamentals at work in nature. Ages 4–6. (Feb.)