A delightful non-fiction text with very much the feel of a fiction book. Stunningly illustrated by Catherine Rayner with descriptions of fascinating facts about each bird. The vocabulary is adventurous and doesn't shy away from scientific language that I think children will thoroughly enjoy.

‘What it’s Like to be a Bird’ is a fact book, which reads like a collection of stories in lyrical prose, with stunning illustrations by Catherine Rayner. Each double page is presented as a story around an inviting title, such as ‘Birds Can Dance’, ‘Sledging for Beginners’ or ‘The Secret Hedgerow House’.

The text entices the readers to go on a sensory adventure to imagine what life as a bird is like. ‘Close your eyes. Spread out your arms and imagine that they are the borad, majestic wings of a bird’, reads the invitation on the double page spread ‘You Don’t Neet to Teach a Bird How to Fly’. My children, aged 6 and 3, both happily engaged in the make-belief suggested by the author and learnt lots of interesting facts about birds from all over the world while listening to these stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury publishing for the eARC of this beautiful book.

This is such a beautiful book, but with far more information than I expected. This is a great book to dip in and out of, giving you weird and wonderful facts. Whilst I have a review copy through @netgalley this is going to be a book that you need a physical copy of to really appreciate it. The illustrations are wonderful, I love Catherine Rayner’s style, which along with the wealth of information makes this book an essential for the library in school and bookshelf at home.

Like a David Attenborough programme for children! Very informative and beautifully illustrated. Lots of text about birds from across the world with a focus on some more unusual behaviours such as ‘dancing’. This may be useful for classroom-based learning. Thank you for the chance to read.

This is the perfect book for all bird loving children (and adults) out there. It is full of interesting facts about birds from all over the world. I loved reading about the red-caped manakin from South and Central America and the honeyguide bird from Africa who can detect a bees' nest and gives a special whistle which the local people recognise.
It would be useful to have an atlas or a globe handy whilst reading this with children to see where all the amazing birds originate.
The illustrations in the book are stunning, making this book a beautiful gift.
This would also be a great addition to a Primary classroom for children to dip into or to reinforce a topic on birds.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this eARC.

The illustrations in this book are so lovely that I wanted to show them to everyone. This book is a must-read for all the bird lovers out there. Children as well as adults would enjoy reading this. Great work!

This fab factual book is full of fun facts and information on the weird and wonderful world of birds. Each page provides the reader with fun, humorous information and details about the birds on the page. It encourages to readers to stretch out their arms and imagine they are soaring through the sky like a bird. It tells us of different species and their peculiar traits and habits.

This is an ideal book for young minds to introduce them to a vast variety of winged creatures that share the world we live in. It has lovely, detailed illustrations to compliment the text on the page. The illustrations are easy to identify, even with the slight cartoon type feel of the drawings.

Overall, a fab book, great for introducing children to more or new knowledge and understanding of creatures of the world around them!

** I received an advanced copy of this ebook to read and review. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publishers for allowing me the opportunity. **

The stories in this book are brilliant. The author manages to include so much information about birds from different parts of the world but without this feeling like a non-fiction text.

I can imagine these stories being read to a class or at home before bed. They really make you think about how it could feel to be a bird.

Catherine Rayner is one of my favourite illustrators and the work in this book is as good as anything else I've seen of hers. The great grey owl on pages 20-21 is stunning and I hope that prints will be available to buy.

Another fab nature non-fiction from Kids Bloomsbury, this profiles a range of birds, from ducks to owls with plenty inbetween. Beautifully illustrated, each double-page spread reveals secrets about each species through accessible prose. Can't wait to use in class!

An absolutely beautiful book filled with so many fascinating facts about birds all complemented with stunning illustrations. This is a wonderful book that all ages can enjoy and a lovely keep sake or gift.