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thisgrrlreads's review against another edition
4.0
Great information paired with fabulous photos. I don't even like birds that much and I like this book. I just wished it felt slightly more about B95 than about red knots in general.
tellmeyarns's review
4.0
More like 4 1/2 stars. Loved it. Information packed, but not overwhelming. Great narrative.
adubrow's review
4.0
A really fascinating look at a special shorebird as well as the world he inhabits.
I found a lot of what is happening to knots, horseshoe crabs, and the natural world around them to be really just depressing, but the author presented everything in a really straightforward, hopeful way. I liked learning a lot of new things in terms of natural history as well as the way the author presented B95's story.
Moonbird will greatly not only appeal to teenagers who are drawn more often and readily to non-fiction, but also to bird and nature lovers.
I found a lot of what is happening to knots, horseshoe crabs, and the natural world around them to be really just depressing, but the author presented everything in a really straightforward, hopeful way. I liked learning a lot of new things in terms of natural history as well as the way the author presented B95's story.
Moonbird will greatly not only appeal to teenagers who are drawn more often and readily to non-fiction, but also to bird and nature lovers.
brucefarrar's review
4.0
“Meet B95, one of the world’s premier athletes. Weighing a mere four ounces, he’s flown more than 325,000 miles in his life—the distance to the moon and nearly halfway back.” The migration of this tiny shorebird and his flock from the tip of South American to the Canadian arctic and back is the subject of this fascinating book. Along the route Hoose describes the stopping places along the way, their ecology, and the immense distances between them. Stunning color photographs illustrate the text, which includes an annotated bibliography and extensive notes.
djblock99's review
5.0
I wasn't particularly looking forward to reading this book, and so was completely surprised when I thoroughly enjoyed it. I knew nothing about red knots going in, and had assumed that B95 was a number assigned to the species, rather than an individual bird. B95 is the hero of the story, a nearly 20-year-old bird who thrives in a harsh world. He's nicknamed Moonbird because he's flown at least as far as to the moon and halfway back, and probably further. As a long-time survivor among a species that seems destined for extinction, it's hard not to root for him. After I was done reading, I immediately went online to see whether I could find an update on B95's last known whereabouts.
The design of the book is very similar to the "Scientist in the Field" series, which I love, and the abundant maps and color photographs made it easy to follow along with the birds as they migrate all the way from the southern tip of Argentina to the Arctic Circle -- over 9000 miles. As I read, I imagined that I could be watching a BBC documentary like Planet Earth or an IMAX movie like March of the Penguins. My favorite picture is the blimpish red knot on page 31, who's fattened up to prepare for the journey.
The design of the book is very similar to the "Scientist in the Field" series, which I love, and the abundant maps and color photographs made it easy to follow along with the birds as they migrate all the way from the southern tip of Argentina to the Arctic Circle -- over 9000 miles. As I read, I imagined that I could be watching a BBC documentary like Planet Earth or an IMAX movie like March of the Penguins. My favorite picture is the blimpish red knot on page 31, who's fattened up to prepare for the journey.
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