News to Chirp About!

My new picture book, Ee-Oh-Lay! What Do Birds Say? is now in bookstores, and is starting to appear in libraries. It has been published by BeaLu Books and is available on their website with free shipping! Click here to go there.

Ee-Oh-Lay! What Do Birds Say? illustrates bird songs and sounds made by 24 different birds, most fairly common throughout the U.S. Here is an excerpt from the end notes:

An onomatopoeia is a word that mimics a sound. Just as a cow says “moo” and a sheep says “baa,” birds also create unique sounds that can often be heard as words.

Birds call or sing for a variety of reasons, such as claiming territory and attracting a mate. Some birds learn to sing from listening to the adult birds around them, while others hatch from their eggs already knowing their songs and sounds. Birds that sing have a unique voice box called a syrinx. The syrinx has two tubes, each of which can be controlled independently. This is how a bird can sing two different notes at the same time! Some songbirds even learn to mimic the sounds they hear, including other bird species. We often hear a Steller’s jay imitate the call of a red-tailed hawk, perhaps to frighten off other birds from its territory or perhaps, to hog all the tasty seeds from our bird feeders.

The original title to this picture book was CHIRP! because it is not just about bird words. About half way through the story, a loud CHIRP! stops the symphony of sounds. Mia Louise quickly figures out who is chirping and stays to witness how the little drama plays out.

I wrote the story several years ago but didn’t find a home for it. The agent I was working with thought it was too much of a niche book but I always felt otherwise. For most children, birds are the first animal they see and/or hear in the world. Why wouldn’t they want a book about them? So, when I learned that the editor I used to work with at Rourke Educational Publishing started her own imprint, I submitted CHIRP! to her. It was her idea to change the title, and I completely agree. I wrote about choosing a book title in this blog post.

I’ll talk about the illustrations in my next post. I broke my right arm during a recent ice event (a storm, not the Winter Olympics) and typing can only be done in small sessions. Besides, it’s time to take a walk and hear what the birds have to say. Meanwhile, I hope you love the book as much as I do!