The Beaks of Birds, Paperback

Come along on a tour of the wonderful world of birds and their beaks. This book is the story of a child and two grown-up friends on a jaunt across their yard, in a park, past a pond, and through the pages of a photo album. Like them, you'll find you can figure out what birds eat by the shape of their bills--and why some have beaks like straws, pouches, or even daggers. Also like them, you'll have all kinds of questions about amazing birds--from house finches to hummingbirds to great blue herons--that use their own built-in tools for eating. Rounding out the story are five kid-friendly activities and background information parents and teachers can use.

A Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Dick has been a science educator for the past 55 years teaching at all levels before finding a place at the University of Massachusetts School of Education in 1967. He has given many staff development workshops in science education in Africa, China, South America and Europe as well as in the United States. His area of research is children's alternative conceptions in science and he has published papers in Phi Delta Kappan, Science Education, Science and Children and many other journals. Dick has published seven books with NSTA Press on teaching science through inquiry. See this science mystery series on his books page. Dick is the recipient of a University Distinguished Teaching Award and the NSTA Presidential Citation Award.

A writer, editor and educator for 30 years, Kathleen now does botanical illustration and fine art in graphite, colored pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor. She has created trail guides and illustrations for trail signs in the Everglades National Park, and supplied botanical and scientific illustrations for textbooks.