Woodpeckers: drilling holes & bagging bugs by Sneed B. Collard III. 48 p. Bucking Horse Books, April, 2018. 9780984446094. (Review of purchased finished copy.)
I nearly skipped Fact Friday as my nonfiction reading has taken a nose-dive thanks to all the reading I am needing to do as a round one Cybils judge. But, after finishing two entries this morning, my mind needed a break from middle grade fiction. I unearthed this book from the bottom of my tbr pile and settled in.
Conversational and punny, this book is a fantastic introduction to the members of the Picidae family. Beautifully designed, well organized and filled with a - mazing photographs, this one has the awe factor. Backmatter includes suggestions for learning more, a glossary, some photo bloopers (!) and an index. My one teeny-tiny quibble has to do with the desire for a map or list at the back showing the regions the woodpeckers can be found it. Some, like the Gila Woodpeckers and the two-page section about woodpeckers found abroad, are obvious. But I had to head for my Field Guide to find out whether I could see the Acorn Woodpecker or the Lewis' Woodpecker in my area. Alas, no.
I have enjoyed the author/ photographer's earlier books. Here's a link to Firebirds, which I found fascinating.
Mr. Collard laments the fact that there aren't any good books about woodpeckers for children in the section called, "Tapping Deeper." He has filled this void magnificently. Woodpeckers: drilling holes & bagging bugs is a first-purchase, as are his other titles.
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