Red Knot: A Shorebird's Incredible Journey

Narrated in journal entries from the point of view of a red knot—a robin-sized shore bird that migrates 20,000 miles annually, from the tip of South America to the Arctic Circle and back—this book depicts one such dramatic journey in stunningly detailed colored-pencil illustrations of the flight over the Atlantic Ocean, a landing in Delaware Bay, the northern nesting grounds, chicks feeding on hatching insects, a close call with an arctic fox, and the return home. At the heart of the story is a message about conservation: the birds stop only a few times as they travel and always in the same coastal areas where dwindling food supplies have caused a precipitous decline in their numbers over the past decade. Science concepts such as animal life cycles, climate, extinction, the food chain, and migration are introduced by information about how bird-banding and protecting the horseshoe crab—whose eggs are a principal food for red knots—can help them survive. A four-page appendix includes a map of the western hemisphere, a range and route map for migrating birds, a glossary, a timeline, and the history and conservation of red knots. This book was the first runner up in the Children's category for the 2007 Eric Hoffer Book Award.