Dancers in the Garden

I had to purchase this book for reading to my granddaughters when they are at Nana's house. I am a banding spot for hummingbirds, so they have been priviledged to watch these amazing little birds from their arrival in the spring until they are banded in August, and then begin their migration. It explains to them why they do their dance, and why they love Nana's fountain garden that was planted just for them! I wish every child the experience of watching and holding a hummingbird in your hand-it is pure magic....

This is a lovely book, a perfect union of text and illustrations. Ryder deftly turns child-suitable prose into poetry: "lyrical" is simply the best word to describe it. As befitting a Sierra Club publication, she is ornithologically accurate in her portrayl of the Allen's hummingbird, and includes a useful discussion of hummers in general at the end of the book. Lopez's watercolors are every bit the author's equal. Each two-page spread is a delight to the eye, accurate in the details and evocative in feeling. And for those of us east of the Mississippi, there's something of a bonus. Since our local hummer is the ruby-throat, not the Allen's, and our flora and fauna are a world apart from the book's San Francisco locale, there's a bit of the exotic in this work. All in all, Dancers in the Garden is a very fine nature book for children and parents to enjoy together.