Hummingbird
by Nicola Davies; illustrated by Jane Ray

With feathers flashing and wings beating as fast as thought, Humming bird takes readers from Mexico or Central America to the United States and Canada as it follows Ruby-throated hummingbirds on their 2,000-mile migration. As the seasons change, the birds help connect a young girl with her distant granny as she shares her love for these tiny visitors.

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Listen to the story

Red Clover Celebration
Saturday, April 24th at 10am
Live Zoom reading of Hummingbird by Nicola Davies
Join here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88924941430

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Do a craft!

Take-and-Make Hummingbird feeder kits can be picked up curbside starting on April 26th.
Call or email the library at 426-3581 or [email protected] to schedule a pickup.

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Big Ideas & enduring Understanding

• Tiny hummingbirds migrate thousands of miles every year.
• People and places are connected by the wildlife with which we share our world.
• Endurance and perseverance benefit many creatures.
  

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Dig a little Deeper

Beyond the Book: Ideas, Questions, Projects and Connections:

• Watch Nicola Davies speak about the book in a video specially created for Vermont students: https://youtu.be/Q_13CuAd5qQ
  
  
• Full-color guide to hummingbirds from Audubon Society: Hummingbirds.pdf
  
  
• Fill your yard with hummingbird-friendly plants! https://www.audubon.org/content/how-create-hummingbird-friendly-yard
  
  
• Check out this map of hummingbird migration in the United States (scroll down): https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2021-map.htm Zoom in on Vermont and see if you can find out when the Ruby-throated hummingbirds usually arrive in our area. Zoom in on Florida and find the date of a sighting. How long does it take hummingbirds to fly from Florida to Vermont?
  

 

• Go on a wildflower walk on your school property or nearby, and try to identify plants that would attract pollinators. Take pictures, make drawings or take notes about what you see, then use the wildflower guides from Vermont Wildflower Farm to identify the plants: https://www.vermontwildflowerfarm.com/plant-identification.html

 

• What could you listen for or look for when trying to spot a hummingbird? Check out Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology hummingbird page here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-throated_Hummingbird

• Why do hummingbirds migrate?
• How do people help and harm the life cycle of hummingbirds?
• Why might stillness attract hummingbirds?
• Why are hummingbirds known as “tz’unun” or “zun-zun” in several Central and South American languages?
• What does “hummingbirds need meat AND potatoes” mean?
• What are some things that hummingbirds eat?