Taking a break from novels. Actually I'm waiting for one to be returned to me. ( )

Children's natural history author and artist Barbara Bash, whose Tree Tales picture-book series explored the world of various arboreal species, turns here to the life of city birds, and the urban homes that they have created for themselves. From pigeons, who like to roost on window ledges, highway overpasses, and rooftops, to peregrine falcons, who nest on skyscrapers, the diverse range of birds profiled here have all learned to adapt themselves to a changing, increasingly urbanized environment.

Although I wouldn't say that I enjoyed Urban Roosts: Where Birds Nest in the City quite as much as Bash's Tree Tales, particularly Tree of Life: The World of the African Baobab (my favorite, of her books), I did find it engaging, and thought it was both informative and well illustrated. I'm always glad to run across books like this, which examine wildlife and nature in the city, as I think sometimes people assume (erroneously) that the two are mutually exclusive. This is one I would recommend to young ornithologists and nature-lovers. It can be paired with such titles as The Curious Garden, about the High-Line Park in NYC, or Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City, a picture-book biography of one of the most famous city birds of all. ( )

Describes the birds that make their homes in the heart of the city and examines how they have adjusted to such a harsh urban environment.