Waiting for a Warbler by Sneed B. Collard III (review)

Parallel stories converge in this fiction/information picture book on bird migration. Owen has been leading his family's efforts to make their property hospitable to wildlife, particularly to birds. Preserving old growth trees and cultivating indigenous plants have begun to pay off; last season he and his sister got a glimpse of a vividly hued cerulean warbler passing through, and they hope to see it return this spring. Meanwhile, readers follow the journey (in italicized text) of birds that migrate in early spring from South and Central America to breeding territory in the United States. A highlighted cerulean warbler is making his first flight across the Gulf of Mexico, and when he runs headlong into a storm the odds are not in his favor to complete the journey. The migration tale, with its balance of information and narrative tension, outshines the family story, in which Owen sounds a bit pedantic, and planting native growth isn't as riveting as battling a storm at sea. Moreover, Collard refrains from assigning a location to Owen's home, making it difficult to assess how far the featured cerulean warbler ultimately traveled and, of definite interest to birders, how far the birds' North American range extends. Brooks' softedged watercolor illustrations pay tribute to the challenge and beauty of each seaand landscape across which the warblers migrate, and the rich blue and teal green plumage of the male warbler and his mate show to advantage. Notes on birding and protecting threatened bird populations and a list of resources are included.