WE ARE STARLINGS: A Look Inside a Murmuration of Birds

A recent post was in praise of a contemporary picture book co-authored by the talented  Liz Garton Scanlon. In yet another prior post I celebrated a different Scanlon book, ONE DARK BIRD, which is among my all-time favorite picture books. (Check the post to read why I might say such a thing- especially as someone who resists choosing favorites!) It's a prime example of how a picture book story idea (a murmuration of starlings) can achieve greatness as a circle story in rhymed text as a counting book, a bedtime book, and an informative exploration of nature for even the very youngest audiences. 

Random House Studio, 2023

This recent nonfiction picture book, WE ARE STARLINGS: Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of a Murmuration is also a writing collaboration. This time the authors are Robert Furrow and Donna Jo Napoli with glorious images by author/illustrator Marc Martin.

These two titles would make a great compare/contrast activity for everything from physicality to storytelling approaches to format. For example, this picture book is large-format, including a double-gatefold spread that allows a stunning murmuration to span nearly a meter on the sprawling pages, while ONE DARK BIRD is hand-sized-square, intimate, and begins with the focus on an individual bird. This new release is nonfiction while Scanlon's title is fiction/poetry with lyrical language. Both use spare text, and both illustrators provide brilliant colors and images, from closely focused to sprawling expanses. ONE SMALL BIRD moves from the singular to the mass, while WE ARE STARLINGS (even in that title) moves from the collective to smaller segments within a flock. BOTH are compelloing and  irresistible.

This title is a welcome explanation (partially) for anyone who has ever witnessed a murmuration and wondered things like "How do they do that?' or "Why don't they bump into each other?' or "Is one of them in charge?"  Then there is the lifetime question, launched as one of the first words we learn to speak... "Why?"

I was intrigued to learn some of those answers and to realize how little I had understood about the patterns of various species in nature, despite noticing and appreciating many of these phenomena throughout my lifetime. When nit comes to murmurations of starlings and how they can DO THAT, I still understand very little, but still much more than before reading this terrific picture book. It comes as no surprise that there is a survival aspect to this behavior, or that it has been observed over centuries. Knowing that does not detract in the least from the symphonic magic of murmurations, visually and even in the audible effect of their combined wings. I recommend both titles with all my heart!

If starlings and their individual/flocking and behavior patterns lends new respect to starlings, I highly recommend an excellent nonfiction book from a few years ago, MOZART'S STARLING, which I enjoyed and reviewed on GOODREADS, HERE. This one is for adults, but you'll learn plenty of bits in it that you'll rush to share with kids.