A Round of Robins Picture Book {Review and Giveaway}

It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to review a picture book and offer my readers a giveaway. I just couldn't pass up the chance to share this cute book with you.

We received A Round of Robins by Katie Hesterman and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier. This 34-page, hardcover picture book is published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. 

What a perfect time of year to receive this adorable book. It is perfect for springtime, as we love to watch the robins returning and building nests in our trees and around our house. This book shares the cycle of the robins' lives, starting with finding a place to build a home, through the egg laying, hatching, and growing up of the baby robins, to moving on to another brood. However, this book is not a non-fiction book. This lifecycle is told through a series of playful poems, which made the book's arrival even more timely, as we got to read it during National Poetry Month. 

Each poem describes one part of the cycle, with cartoon-style artwork to illustrate the verse, and is one to two stanzas in length, taking up one to two pages. 

Each of the poems has a title, some of which were quite entertaining.

Here, let's look at some of them.

"Turf Tune" is the first poem in the book. It tell of daddy robin claiming his territory, while the illustrations show dad standing at the edge of a branch while three angry birds look on in disgust. 

In "Home Sweet Home" mama robin is shown building the nest and getting comfortable in it.

"EGGcessories" shows the happy couple looking down on their nest full of the perfect amount of eggs, four.

 "Red-Hot Mama" talks about how mama incubates the eggs, while sharing pictures of her in her nest dreaming about her babies.

"Inside Job" tells of the babies in the egg, cramped in tightly as they only have one more night before they hatch. 

"Pop Patrol" shows daddy robin chasing away birds who were invading his space.

In total there are 16 poems included in this book. As you can see, the titles are quite intriguing. I found the poems to be quite cute and humorous, while telling the true story of a robin family's life. And I am a huge fan of rhyming verse in poetry, so that was a big plus in my eyes. I've read books with rhyming verse where it was quite the chore to read. I am happy to say that is not the case with this book. The verse flowed well as did the rhyming. Plus, the illustrations complemented the text very well. I loved the soft colors which are done in pen and ink and watercolor. 

If you are looking for a fun spring book, a book about robins, a poetry book, or all three, may I suggest checking out this debut book by Katie Hesterman. It is recommended for children ages 5-8, though I can see slightly younger or older children enjoying it as well. My children all did, and they range in age from 6-11. 

About the Author and Illustrator:

Katie Hesterman dreamed of being an ornithologist as a child, but now contents herself with watching them through her window and writing about them. She lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Sergio Ruzzier is a picture book author and illustrator whose work has received awards from American Illustrations, the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, and the Society of Publication Designers. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

And now for the great news! One of my readers will get to win their own copy of A Round of Robins!

Giveaway Time!

All you need to do is enter in the Rafflecopter form below. 

There are only 2 simple mandatory entries, with the remainder of the entries being optional. 

Remember, you do not have to do the extra entries, but they will increase your odds of winning. 

This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and over. 

The giveaway runs April 30th through May 13th!.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!

By entering the giveaway, you understand and agree that your contact information will be shared with the sponsor.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a hardcover copy of A Round of Robins in exchange for my honest review. No further compensation was given. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.