Woo-hoo! It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!

And I have a gift for you.

I found the greatest book!

I love birds.

I have a feeder on my deck that attracts lots of common northeastern species, and I really enjoy observing them, showing them to my children, and now grandchildren, teaching them to recognize chickadees and nuthatches, cardinals, tufted titmouses, and juncos, and telling them what they say – chicka-dee-dee-dee! 😊

This book brings dawn to life for young readers, giving them a front row seat to the morning conversation of the birds. So beautifully done, and such a great idea for a book!

Title: Anyone Else Awake?: A Dawn Chorus

Written By: Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Illustrated By: Bonnie Kelso

Publisher: Muddy Boots, January 6, 2026, fact-based fiction

Suitable For Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: birds, birdsong, nature

text copyright Carmela LaVigna Coyle 2026, illustration copyright Bonnie Kelso 2026, Muddy Boots

Opening:
“Is. . .
Is. . .
Is anyone else awake-wake-wake?
warbles a robin.”

Brief Synopsis: As dawn arrives, birds greet the day and each other in the dawn chorus with joyful, excited, and even warning song, each voice individual and identifiable – eleven common species that young bird enthusiasts might see.

text copyright Carmela LaVigna Coyle 2026, illustration copyright Bonnie Kelso 2026, Muddy Boots

Links To Resources: there is very interesting and accessible back matter in the book about birds, birdsong, and the three phases of dawn; look around your neighborhood and see what birds you find – use a bird book or a bird app and maybe some binoculars to help you identify them; listen to bird songs and try to imitate them – maybe you can talk to the birds!

text copyright Carmela LaVigna Coyle 2026, illustration copyright Bonnie Kelso 2026, Muddy Boots

Why I Like This Book: This is such a lovely book! It opens with two wordless spreads (one of which is the dedication page) that show a little girl waking in soft darkness, going to a window seat cozy with bird pillows, and opening the window to music… the dawn chorus. One by one, the birds wake and sing their distinctive songs, greeting the morning and each other. Robin is first, followed by chickadee, towhee, crow, and many other common species, the sound, song, and conversation swelling, language mimicking the sound and rhythm of the bird song, as the sky brightens slowly from dark to light. A tense moment when a hawk threatens is followed by a silent spread where everyone disappears into shrub and shadow until it’s safe to come out and sing again. And finally the girl echoes the robin – “Is anyone else awake?” – and yes, her family is up for the day. The art is beautiful with the soft colors of a spring dawn brightening into full daylight and all the birds faithfully represented so that young readers will recognize them if they know them or be able to identify them in real life when they see them based on the pictures. The back matter adds a whole other layer to the book with lots of easy-to-understand information about birds, bird song, and the phases of dawn (something I never knew about before, so I learned something from this book!) A wonderful book for bird lovers and kids of all ages (including those who are technically grown-ups!)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊

For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.

PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊