Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95

Children’s non-fiction books have been in the spotlight recently with the focus on Common Core Standards in the education field.  That being said, many authors are creating non-fiction books that are more easily accessible and interesting to kids.  Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 written by Phillip Hoose is one such book.  The book follows one specific rufa red knot, a bird that travels from Patagonia – almost Antartica, all the way to their breeding grounds in the Arctic Circle every year and returns.  B95, a very specific bird, was tagged originally in 1995 and has since been re-tagged and spotted almost every year since, having flown over 325,000 miles during his lifetime.

This book was really interesting from an ornithology aspect as well as from a conservation aspect.  Since B95 was first tagged, the rufa population has collapsed by 80 percent and there are drastic measures being taken around the globe to save this special bird and the ecosystem within which it works.  Definitely take a look at this book – an easy read about a really interesting species of shorebird.

Title: Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95
Author: Phillip Hoose
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 2012
Page Number: 148 pgs.