A hummingbird weighs about as much as a nickel, beats its wings some fifty times a second, and can fly backwards, which no other bird on earth can do. It eats roughly its own body weight in nectar every day, builds a nest the size of a walnut out of spider silk and lichen, and then—if it is a ruby-throat—crosses five hundred miles of open water over the Gulf of Mexico without stopping. Children who have stood still at a feeder and had one hover a foot from their face already know the important part: it does not look like an animal so much as a rumor of one.
Bookroo's collection of hummingbird books is deliberately small—this is one specific bird, and a short list of good books beats a long list of vague ones. Our editors picked the titles that actually deliver: the lyrical nonfiction that gets the science right, a true story about a rescued nestling, a year-long feeder diary with the sugar-water recipe in the back, a journal of poems written from a family's own patio, and novels for readers who want the bird to carry a story. Start with the shortlist, then use the picture-book shelf for read-alouds and the chapter shelf for report season.
A girl leaves her grandmother's garden in Central America; months later the same hummingbirds turn up in Central Park.
Wings at fifty beats a second, a heart at twelve hundred, and a bird that can hover, reverse, and stop mid-air.
Two orphaned nestlings the size of jelly beans arrive at a rehabilitator's house and have to be taught to fly.
A ruby-throated hummingbird keeps a diary for one year: eggs, feeders, cats, a hurricane, and the flight south.
One plain sentence and one realistic painting per spread, from the bee hummingbird to the giant hummingbird.
One ruby-throat flies south alone, including five hundred miles of open Gulf water with nowhere to land.
A hummingbird builds a nest on the family's patio, and the family spends three months not making any sudden moves.
Hector the bear loves Hummingbird. Hector would also like ten minutes to himself.
Olive talks her parents into letting her leave homeschool for fourth grade, then goes looking for a hummingbird that grants wishes.
A nearly wordless graphic novel in which Owly and Wormy befriend two hummingbirds, then have to let them go south.
Sixty-four pages of hummingbird science paired with the pourquoi tales told about them across the Americas.
Feeders, nests, migration, and one very talkative bird, for read-alouds ages 3–8.
Can two friends attract more hummingbirds to their garden?
A tiny hummingbird rallies animals to save their forest from a raging fire.
A tiny hummingbird strives to achieve the impossible: flight.
Fact books, backyard-animal readers, and novels for independent readers ages 7–12.
A backyard field guide to the hummingbirds at your own feeder.
Discover the secrets of hummingbirds' vibrant lives.
Amidst isolation and wildfires, Archie seeks hope and his lost hummingbird.
