Here are 100 books that You Nest Here with Me fans have personally recommended if you like
You Nest Here with Me.
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I may not be an expert ornithologist, but I am an avid “birdologist” to borrow a term from Sy Montgomery—one who is awed and fascinated by all things bird. Bird-watching is meditative—it helps me to be present and to feel joyful. I love reading, learning, and writing about birds too! I am the author of these bird books: Hawk Rising, illustrated by Brian Floca, Whoo-Ku Haiku, illustrated by Jonathan Voss, and the forthcoming You and the Bowerbird, illustrated by Maris Wicks. I love writing about the natural world and its inhabitants as well as dogs—another love of mine!
Both Jennifer Ward and Diana Sudyka are two of my favorite kid lit creators, and this brilliant collaboration begs to be read aloud. Ward’s lyrical text sings as an introductory guide for the littlest bird watchers, showing them where to look for birds: up to see them fly and roost—but not just up—down on the ground where birds nest, straight ahead where they blend with bark, on and under the water. And if you put out a birdfeeder, all you need is a window-view. But what’s the best way to find a bird? To listen—birdsong is all around us! Sudyka’s gorgeously intricate art paints the avian details of all the found birds. Don’t miss the back matter for bird-watching tips.
A joyful and informative guide to birdwatching for budding young birders from an award-winning author-illustrator duo.
How do you find a bird? There are so many ways! Begin by watching. And listening. And staying quiet, so quiet you can hear your own heartbeat. Soon you’ll see that there are birds everywhere—up in the sky, down on the ground, sometimes even right in front of you just waiting to be discovered!
Young bird lovers will adore this lushly illustrated introduction to how to spot and observe our feathered friends. It features more than fifty different species, from the giant whooping crane…
I may not be an expert ornithologist, but I am an avid “birdologist” to borrow a term from Sy Montgomery—one who is awed and fascinated by all things bird. Bird-watching is meditative—it helps me to be present and to feel joyful. I love reading, learning, and writing about birds too! I am the author of these bird books: Hawk Rising, illustrated by Brian Floca, Whoo-Ku Haiku, illustrated by Jonathan Voss, and the forthcoming You and the Bowerbird, illustrated by Maris Wicks. I love writing about the natural world and its inhabitants as well as dogs—another love of mine!
Using a familiar cumulative format, Sonenshine makes it shine and makes it her own using pleasing poetic language to tell a story about a nesting pair of Carolina wrens. This rhythmic read-aloud is jaunty and joyful and scientifically accurate; we watch the wren pair build a nest, lay their eggs on a velvet bed of moss, and observe as chicks grow from hatchlings to nestlings to fledglings, flying off on their own. Hunter’s earth-toned art complements the coziness of the text. The book wraps up with wren facts and a glossary of bird-related terms.
Nature lovers and poetry fans alike will be drawn to this lyrical picture book depicting how Carolina wrens build a nest for their young.
This is the bark, snippets of twine, spidery rootlets, and needles of pine that shape the nest that Wren built.
In the rhyming style of “The House That Jack Built,” this poem about the care and specificity that Carolina wrens put into building a nest is at once tender and true to life. Papa and Mama Wren gather treasures of the forest, from soft moss for a lining to snakeskin for warding off predators. Randi Sonenshine’s…
I’m an artist with an analytical mind. I love art and stories but I also love systems and processes. Ever since taking a class at art school about making pop-ups, I’ve been in love with paper engineering. It’s been the perfect synthesis of all my loves. There’s something fascinating about transforming an everyday object (paper) into something unexpected. Combined that with a great story and you have a magical experience! I like focusing my work on books for young readers (board books - picture books) because it gives adults and kids an opportunity to interact with each other and build memories.
Sitting on the bookshelf horizontally (swing on top)—I was intrigued the moment I laid eyes on it and it did not disappoint.
Just about every book I own is structured the same with the spine is always on the side of the book. But this book has the spine on top! I opened the book and flipped the pages up as Mel falls down the tree. Then, through the clever illustrations and design of the text, I wound up turning the book upside and found myself flipping the pages down to make Mel fly back up the tree. What sorcery was this?
I’ve seen many illustrators try to have readers turn a book, but I have never had such a smooth and seamless experience!
3
authors picked
Mel Fell
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
4,
5,
6, and
7.
What is this book about?
A Caldecott Honor Book and ALA Notable Book of the Year! An innovative and charming tale about a plucky little bird, from the award-winning author-illustrator of Fox the Tiger.
Readers will delight in turning their book sideways and upside down to follow Mel on her journey from downward fall to triumphant flight in this tale of self-confidence and taking a leap of faith.
An especially enjoyable and satisfying read-aloud!
I may not be an expert ornithologist, but I am an avid “birdologist” to borrow a term from Sy Montgomery—one who is awed and fascinated by all things bird. Bird-watching is meditative—it helps me to be present and to feel joyful. I love reading, learning, and writing about birds too! I am the author of these bird books: Hawk Rising, illustrated by Brian Floca, Whoo-Ku Haiku, illustrated by Jonathan Voss, and the forthcoming You and the Bowerbird, illustrated by Maris Wicks. I love writing about the natural world and its inhabitants as well as dogs—another love of mine!
In mostly rhyming couplets, Sayre’s book celebrates the lowly turkey vulture, an unsung and underappreciated creature that plays a very vital role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem—scavengers are nature’s clean-up crew! View vultures as they circle, soar, and glide on thermals, up, UP! Watch them sniff, search, seek and eat things that reek, the more rotten the better. Vultures feast, then clean and preen. At night, they roost and rest in trees like families. Jenkins’ cut paper collages complete this homage to the venerable turkey vulture. Explore more turkey vulture facts in the concluding pages.
Turkey vultures soar on the balmy air, looking for their next stinky feast. These birds don't hunt―they like their food to be already dead, and their eating habits serve a very important ecological role. Vultures are part of nature's clean-up crew.
In her signature poetic, energetic style, acclaimed nature writer April Pulley Sayre introduces young readers to the world of the turkey vulture. The gorgeous illustrations by Caldecott Honor–winning artist Steve Jenkins capture these birds in all their surprising majesty.
Vulture View is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
My first memories are of sitting in the garden munching strawberries off the vine as my grandfather picked vegetables. Dad’s days off meant a trip to the nature reserve or sledding the town slopes. Vacations were for jumping in waves and exploring tidepools. Mom collected antique children’s books and instilled a passion for reading. When not exploring the woods across the railroad tracks with friends, I was reading. Childhood and my passion for nature intersect in my writing in two of my other books, A Beach Tail and Circles of Hope. Nowadays, my routine includes writing in my woodland cabin and daily hikes with my flat-coated retriever, Lowani.
Birds are an important connection to nature for me. Like Mr. Flynn, I sometimes wonder if all my adventures are behind me. I remember thinking as a child, like Ollie McPhee, that nothing interesting ever happens. And I know the excitement of catching a glimpse of a bird I have not seen before. Or just hearing a new bird call. The silliness in text and illustrations is not usually my style, but I keep coming back to this book.
It is a fun escape into the natural world that incorporates how to keep a birding journal and information about the Snowy Owl, who is part of the plot. The end pages top off my love of this book with engaging illustrations identifying twenty birds and their habits.
This humorous graphic novel picture book shares an unexpected friendship between a young boy and his elderly neighbor as they discover they have a lot to learn from each other.
As an elderly man wonders if his days of adventure are behind him, across the street a young boy is struggling with boredom. But then everything changes when they run into each other outside and, after a bit of commotion, get caught up in the pursuit to document an elusive snowy owl in the woods behind their houses.
As the day unfolds, they get to know each other better and…
With three kids, bedtime at my house is usually nuts. When we strike gold with a great bedtime read that’s funny or cozy, or better yet, BOTH, it becomes part of our permanent rotation. I love finding books that make my kids excited about story time (and just maybe encourage them to get through their bedtime routines a little faster). As a children’s picture book author, my own books are inspired by my kids’ everyday lives, and sleep, or lack thereof, is a topic that I always find so very relatable!
This book is my all-time favorite bedtime story for toddlers. Just thinking about this book has me yawning already.
It’s silly AND sleepy, with illustrations my kids always giggle at (I'm looking at you, animals wearing PJs that are too small.) It’s also rhythmic and rhyming and ends with a dreamy illustration of a boat rocking gently on the waves. This is a classic in my house!
Getting ready for sleep is tons of fun in this Sandra Boynton classic.
The sun has set not long ago. Now everybody goes below to take a bath in one big tub with soap all over-SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB!
This classic bedtime story is just right for winding down the day as a joyful, silly group of animals scrub scrub scrub in the tub, brush and brush and brush their teeth, and finally rock and rock and rock to sleep.
I spent 10+ years in supply chain and analytics, but now I tell the stories that data doesn’t. I love exposing the hidden logic that makes the world work. Correction: I love discovering the hidden logic that makes the world work, and what I figure out, I love to share. Whether it’s getting kids interested in supply chain (e.g., how the things in the Amazon package actually get to their mailbox) or shedding light on corporate absurdity in funny novels (e.g., Firebrand), I figure that the more we can pull back the curtain and look behind the scenes, the more we can understand—and appreciate—the world around us.
Sometimes, things that are mainstream-popular are mainstream-popular for a reason. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site may be the Starbucks of big-truck-oriented kidlit, but every once in a while, you just want a nice, reliable $7 latte instead of a matcha-oat-single-origin-barista-art-cortado out of a chipped vintage teacup.
And, sometimes, your kids want the same book they read at daycare with their friends instead of one of Mom or Dad’s gold or silver nostalgia trips. Luckily, GGCS lives up to its best-selling reputation: it rhymes, the illustrations are pretty, and the dump truck is a girl. It just goes to show that, sometimes, a book doesn’t have to be old to be a classic.
The #1 New York Times bestselling children's book now available in board book!
An unabridged board book for kids version of the bestselling, best-beloved hardcover, perfect for small hands! Even the roughest, toughest readers will want to turn off their engines, rest their wheels, and drift to sleep with this sweet and soothing story. Vibrant illustrations and gentle rhyming text make this construction book for kids a surefire bedtime favorite for truck-crazy kids everywhere.
Can't get enough of these tough trucks? The long-awaited sequel to this bestselling book series, Mighty, Mighty, Construction Site, is now available for preorder!
I am the author and illustrator of the baby book listed below. As a mom of a 1-year-old, I am no stranger to kids’ books. After 1 year of going through my baby’s bookshelf and finding my own personal favorites, I realized that the common theme amongst all of my favorites is that all my selects happen to rhyme. Therefore, when I set out to write my own book, it was a given that this would be a rhyming story. Since then, I have been reading and researching all of the rhyming books to create my own. After all this research, these top five books are my top picks.
Another classic full of nostalgia, I recently found the book's hidden message—there is a clock on each page, and you can watch the time progress as the story goes on. Please note that in the story, bedtime takes a full hour, which makes me feel better about my bedtime process.
A beautiful anniversary edition of the classic bedtime story with shiny gold cover flourishes - the perfect gift for christenings and birthdays.
Featuring a look at the fascinating story behind the creation of one of the most famous children's books in the world, beloved by Michelle Obama and Neil Gaiman alike, as well as tips on how to get your child to sleep.
In a great green room a little bunny is tucked up snugly and safely in bed and is getting ready to say goodnight to all the familiar things in his room, one by one.
Hello! I am Jane Yolen, author of almost 450 books. I write picture books and novels, poetry, and graphic novels–mostly for children. I have published books about just about every subject imaginable. But I’ve always loved fantasy books especially. I grew up on the Alice in Wonderland books and the Arthurian legends. I, of course, carried that love into my writing life–having written about monsters, mermaids, and unicorns. I’m fascinated by fairies; they show up in a lot of what I write. Give me a real kid and a mythical creature of some sort, sprinkle in a bit of magic–I’m in!
The book's great front matter invites the child reader to experience a journey through the night to search for jumbies, which are, it explains, not friendly. But then, within the pages, the jumbies, though lying gently to the child, are, in fact, quite friendly. The darkness is, sort of, implied for later.
I love this ambiguity–gentle enough to allow this book to exist but mysterious enough to open up possibilities. This book will definitely serve as an introduction to the author’s middle-grade series. It is dark, luminous, and wonderful.
New York Times bestselling author Tracey Baptiste and acclaimed illustrator Amber Ren take readers on a fun, creepy, storytime-ready romp through a forest filled with creatures from Caribbean folklore.
I'm looking for a jumbie, I'm going to find a scary one.
But Mama says jumbies exist only in stories. So Naya sets out on a nighttime adventure to find out for herself.
No such thing, say the friends she makes along the way.
But Naya is sure that jumbies are real. Some have big mouths. Or thick fur. Or glowing skin. Or sharp teeth. Kind of like her new friends....…
As a mom of young kids who love animals, I know firsthand the benefit of finding fun books that are also easy to read, fun to look at, and short enough not to make you flinch when your kids pull them off the shelves during those later bedtime nights.
This gentle rhyming book is the perfect book for your child and their best stuffy friend to read just before they drift off to sleep. The imaginative watercolor pictures will stick with you, and children will love finding how each child’s BFFs find their way into dreamland. Bonus? The book is short enough for a quick bedtime story, but has enough of a story for you to read it over and over without making you feel tired, too!
Take a bedtime journey with the New York Times bestselling author of The Wonderful Things You Will Be and discover the adventures that await while you dream!
You only have to close your eyes And when you snuggle in…. You’ll be carried to your dream tonight On wing or paw or fin
Snuggle into bed and discover what your dream animal might be and where it could take you! Could it be a bear who brings you to bake pastries? A fox who ushers you into a magical forest? Mermaids with whom you can sip tea?
