New Zealand Birds of the Week: Ngā Manu o te Wiki

The popular nursery rhyme 'Monday's Child' gets a new spin in this book by Darryl and Gillian Torckler. Each day features a different native or introduced bird from Aotearoa with big and bold photographs.

Alongside the big double spread photograph is a smaller one, accompanied by a short snippet of information e.g. "Tarāpunga/Red-Billed Gull - Noisy birds that are seen on most beaches yet are under threat of extinction." I really enjoyed this extra layer of information that takes it from merely a nice rhyming book to one with more non-fiction content and acting as a springboard for further research of the birds by the reader.

The clear, detailed and large format photographs are full of action, birds swooping, walking and in flight, readers will be able to feel a part of the action too and be able to clearly see the plumage and other close-up details of these birds and their habitats.

While the traditional 'Monday's Child' rhyme would suggest that the book would be limited to just seven birds, Gillian Torckler has cleverly woven in more than double; in fact fifteen birds are featured! I was pleased about that; as I was reading along, I started to worry our national bird, the Kiwi, might get left out!

As a book with multi-layer appeal, whimsical text alongside non-fiction snippets and fabulous photographs, I can see this being a book that is read and enjoyed by a wide range of young readers.