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Born Inside a Nest So Small

Author Iza Trapani
Illustrated by Iza Trapani
Hardcover
$17.99 US
Charlesbridge
8.38"W x 8.25"H x 0.4"D  
On sale Jun 10, 2025 | 32 Pages | 9781623545840
Preschool - 2
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A young child observes and admires a friendly ruby-throated hummingbird in this poetic love letter to the smallest birds in the world.

A perfect rhyming and informative picture book about hummingbirds for curious 4-7-year-old backyard birders.

Hummingbird, you nectar lover,
how you dash and dart and hover—
forward, backward, upside down.
I love to watch you zip around.

Admire a playful ruby-throated hummingbird alongside a young child, and learn about these birds’ lives from teeniest tiniest egg to migrating south as the seasons change. With Iza Trapani’s pleasing rhymes and gentle introduction to these little hummers, young readers will delight in repeat read alouds!

Back matter includes further reading on hummingbirds for the most insatiable kids.
Iza Trapani was born in Poland, and when she first came to the United States at the age of seven, she learned English in large part by reading a book of Mother Goose. She is the author of many books for children, some of which were based on beloved nursery rhymes such as Mary Had a Little Lamb, I'm a Little Teapot, and the bestselling The Itsy Bitsy Spider, which recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary. Iza lives in upstate New York. View titles by Iza Trapani
An alert child gets to know a ruby-throated hummingbird.
From spring to fall, the young narrator, tan-skinned with tousled brown curls, records observations in rhyming couplets addressed to the animal. These rhymes are complemented by factual descriptions, differentiated from the verse by typeface and font. The text is set directly on Trapani’s paintings, which accurately depict the male ruby-throated hummingbird (young and green, and with red hues as an adult) and its drabber green mother. The bird’s tiny size is emphasized in scenes that show him dwarfed by flowers, a feeder, and the child. The clothing the young narrator wears demonstrates the passing of the seasons from spring to summer to fall. Some of the child’s commentary comes from observation (how the bird flies, his “bitty wings,” his feeding habits) and some from a book—nesting behavior, in particular. As summer comes to a close, the hummingbird seems to say goodbye—a moment based on personal experience, Trapani notes in an afterword. The child can only imagine the bird’s long migration over water and the relief of his arrival at his warm winter home. The tone is gentle and admiring, the facts are accurate and sensibly selected for younger readers or listeners, and the lines scan comfortably for a read-aloud.
An attractive title for the nature shelf and storytime.
—Kirkus Reviews
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About

A young child observes and admires a friendly ruby-throated hummingbird in this poetic love letter to the smallest birds in the world.

A perfect rhyming and informative picture book about hummingbirds for curious 4-7-year-old backyard birders.

Hummingbird, you nectar lover,
how you dash and dart and hover—
forward, backward, upside down.
I love to watch you zip around.

Admire a playful ruby-throated hummingbird alongside a young child, and learn about these birds’ lives from teeniest tiniest egg to migrating south as the seasons change. With Iza Trapani’s pleasing rhymes and gentle introduction to these little hummers, young readers will delight in repeat read alouds!

Back matter includes further reading on hummingbirds for the most insatiable kids.

Author

Iza Trapani was born in Poland, and when she first came to the United States at the age of seven, she learned English in large part by reading a book of Mother Goose. She is the author of many books for children, some of which were based on beloved nursery rhymes such as Mary Had a Little Lamb, I'm a Little Teapot, and the bestselling The Itsy Bitsy Spider, which recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary. Iza lives in upstate New York. View titles by Iza Trapani

Praise

An alert child gets to know a ruby-throated hummingbird.
From spring to fall, the young narrator, tan-skinned with tousled brown curls, records observations in rhyming couplets addressed to the animal. These rhymes are complemented by factual descriptions, differentiated from the verse by typeface and font. The text is set directly on Trapani’s paintings, which accurately depict the male ruby-throated hummingbird (young and green, and with red hues as an adult) and its drabber green mother. The bird’s tiny size is emphasized in scenes that show him dwarfed by flowers, a feeder, and the child. The clothing the young narrator wears demonstrates the passing of the seasons from spring to summer to fall. Some of the child’s commentary comes from observation (how the bird flies, his “bitty wings,” his feeding habits) and some from a book—nesting behavior, in particular. As summer comes to a close, the hummingbird seems to say goodbye—a moment based on personal experience, Trapani notes in an afterword. The child can only imagine the bird’s long migration over water and the relief of his arrival at his warm winter home. The tone is gentle and admiring, the facts are accurate and sensibly selected for younger readers or listeners, and the lines scan comfortably for a read-aloud.
An attractive title for the nature shelf and storytime.
—Kirkus Reviews

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