Book Review: The Hummingbird's Gift

One year at CBLI, I brought along a non-fiction book about the octopus. It was Sy Montgomery's The Soul of an Octopus. The book was entertaining. I recall a story about how, through incredible intelligence, the octopus escaped its tank. Yet, I couldn't focus on it enough to do it justice, so I set it aside. When Montgomery's The Hummingbirds' Gift came available at my library, I joined the hold list with anticipation. What a delightful book. It was a quick and easy read and the color photographs were exceptional.

My hummingbird feeder hangs just outside the window where I work at my computer every morning. I so enjoy watching the birds swoop in and sometimes fight over the nectar. I will say my hummingbirds are more radiant than the illustrations in this book because some are ruby-throated. Still, I fully enjoyed learning more about this miniscule bird. They are so fragile and abandoned babies present particular challenges. The story of ridding the babies of mites ripped out my heart. This treatment very well could have killed the birds. I marveled at the dedication required of hummingbird rehabilitators. The resilience of these birds inspired me. I closed the book wanting to learn more about these intriguing creatures and determined to seek the further resources, including Brenda Sherburn's art website, www.saveworlddraw.org.