Master Naturalists LOVE their field guides; after all, what would we do without them? But we also care deeply about the natural world, and we encourage ourselves and others to experience it and to truly understand, appreciate, respect, and protect it; in other words, to interpret it.
This very short text extols the wonders and virtues (and vices!) of those most extraordinary of winged creatures, hummingbirds. The author shadows and assists a hummingbird rehabilitator, Brenda Sherburn La Belle, of Fairfax, California. The author quickly realizes how demanding and difficult caring for these tiny living beings, as small as a peanut, is. They require continual care, and they are so tiny and fragile that even touching them is risky. The author calls them “bubbles” because of the nine air sacs in their bodies. Their miniscule bones are porous, and their legs are thinner than toothpicks. Their little feet are as flimsy as embroidery thread. It is difficult to imagine a more daunting task than that of the rehabilitator. And yet, for over a decade, Brenda patiently and lovingly tended to the orphaned and injured hummingbirds that were brought to her. Focusing on two orphaned hummingbird babies, the author crafts a narrative as delicate and lovely as the creatures she describes, leaving the reader with a renewed sense of awe and respect for the natural world and for those who strive to care for it.
— Camille Grabb