Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When Hazel was younger, I loved coming up with different themes to focus some of our books and activities. As she got older, it became themes for the summer. Now she is in high school and I'm lucky to watch television with her. As I was finding products to review, I realized many would lend to fun themes to focus your kids this summer. They range from educational, nature, crafts and more. Today's theme is bird watching! To introduce this theme I am sharing a wonderful book with you. It is Turn This Book into a Bird Feeder by Lynn Brunelle and illustrated by Anna-Maria Jung. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12 but could be for younger kids with adult help! After my review there will be a roundup of DIY bird feeders, bird crafts and other bird books to learn about them.

About the Book:

Turn your book into a working bird feeder for your backyard feathered friends with the help of this kid’s hands-on guide to understanding the world of birds.

Fly, flutter, and flap into the colorful world of birds in this interactive book for kids ages 8 and up. Learn all about birds — from feathers and feet to habitats and diet, and how to spot them in your own backyard, this book is the perfect for budding birders. As the name describes, TURN THIS BOOK INTO A BIRD FEEDER is more than just a book — follow the simple instruction to transform the cover into a working bird feeder. Whether you live in the country, suburbs, or a city, enjoy watching locals flock to the yummy buffet.

From Me:

This book intrigued me because of its title. However, this book is so much more than just how to make a bird feeder from its cover. It goes through what makes an animal a bird compared with a reptile or mammal. It then goes into things like feathers, different types and different uses. Then there is how birds can fly and why some cannot. It talks about the various beaks and their uses and what birds eat. Throughout all of this there are fun facts and different activities including STEM experiments. There is also a chapter on making your own bird feeder including several of the types shared below in our DIY bird feeder roundup. There is also a section on identifying birds and in particular birds that may be in your back yard. This book has everything!!

There are also instructions to make the book cover into a bird feeder. It includes coloring, taping and using pencils or chopsticks. Younger kids will need help but they can at least help decorate the bird feeder!

The book also goes into why it is important to feed the birds and why we care about the birds! Their existence matters to our existence. They play very important roles in our environment. It also includes information about counting birds and having a bird journal as well as organizations you can contact to be an official bird counter. This book is full of so much information, and it is wonderful!! I learned new things about birds from it even with all the research I have done for my bird posts!

This book is perfect for studying birds either at home or in a classroom! It teaches all sorts of things about birds and goes into detail about the birds that may be around your neighborhood wherever that is. It is the perfect kick-off product for my summer themes. Birdwatching is something that can be done all year-round but in the summer there usually are more around. The chapters themselves are fun to read, and the book is colorful. It explains so many parts of birds from their colors and even how we see colors differently than birds do. I love the various explanations throughout it and the science lessons too. I would have loved this book when I was young!! I also think Hazel would have too. This is such a fun book, and it would make a perfect gift for kids! I love the activities, crafts and experiments throughout it!

Now I have always loved having bird feeders in my yard. We currently have four feeders with seed, two suet feeders, two hummingbird feeders, and one feeder for oranges for the Baltimore Oriole that keeps coming. One of the seed feeders and one of the hummingbird feeders have cameras. I have been sharing some of the videos on my social media pages. Perhaps you saw this common grackle parent feeding its young on one of my pages. Or one of my hummingbird visitors. I got really hooked back in 2020 when there was nothing to do but read in my hammock and interact with the nature around me! Now the cameras help me not miss as much. I hope you will check out this amazing book as well as my bird pictures and reels on social media!

Now my ideas of summer themes include sharing with you not only a product to purchase but some other resources--crafts, books, posts to share and do with your kids for the summer. Birdwatching is of course an activity that can keep going but take time to learn about the various birds and animals that are in your yard. Help your kids learn to identify the birds. I was shocked when Hazel was 3 or 4 and we were on a nature hike at a park near us and she was the youngest kid but the only one that could identify a robin.

Bird Watching Resources:

This book shares many things about birds as well as why we need to care about them and when we should feed them. There are various activities of DIY bird feeders in it as well as other activities. I asked my fellow bloggers for their DIY bird feeders and here they are.

DIY Bird Feeders:

1) How to Make a Suet Bird Feeder from Living Life & Learning

2) Bird Seed Ornament

3) DIY Bird Feeders with Kids from Tina's Dynamic Homeschool+

4) DIY Bird Feeder from In the Playroom

5) Easy Jumbo Stick Bird Feeder from Tina's Dynamic Homeschool+

6) DIY Recycled Milk Bottle Bird Feeder from Finding Myself Young

7 & 8) Previous DIY Bird Feeder Roundup

Learning About Birds Resources

Going with bird watching is learning about different birds. Here are some resources we have shared in the past. Be sure to check out our Who's in the Back Yard? Series from 2020 as well to learn about some typical back yard birds and other animals. We also did a whole series about flamingos with lots of information, crafts and resources about the different kinds of flamingos.