For children’s author Janet Halfmann, birds and birdsong has always been a part of her life. Growing up on a farm in Michigan in the US, her family had a wren house atop the clothesline. Janet grew up watching wrens carry sticks to the house every spring. There were generations of sparrows that raised families inside the farm’s unused smoke house where Janet and her brothers could watch, and she especially loved the bob-white whistles that her parents said meant rain might come.
Janet grew up captivated by the critters living in the garden, fields, and woods of her family’s dairy and crop farm in mid-Michigan. The barn cats were a favorite with her and her brothers!
Janet had always been envious that my friends could easily spot cardinals—until she read that the cardinal’s song sounds like the fun phrase, wheet, wheet, wheet, birdie, birdie, birdie. With that phrase in her head, she realized she was final able to spot cardinal easily. With further research, she learned that the calls and songs of many birds sound like fun phrases—and the idea for Who Is Singing? was born.
But it was nearly three decades from idea to this publication. Janet first sent the manuscript out in 2000. Over the years, it was held for review by some editors, got several positive notes, and sold in 2011, but the publisher pulled the contract when her main competitor came out with a bird book. When the book was finally published in 2021, the publisher sold her company and it folded soon afterwards. At that point, the copy and illustration rights released back to Janet. She asked Brandylane Publishers, with whom she had two other books, if they would be interested in publishing. Fortunately, they said yes.
Illustrator Chrissy Chalbot’s artwork for Who is Singing? is bright and colorful, and designed to be easy for children to be able to recognize the birds. The illustrations showcase the birds’ habitats, food choices, and behaviors.
The simple, repetitive structure of the book in its question and answer format will appeal to young readers. In this structure, a picture of the bird is paired with its song and a question about who is singing:
Question format in WHO IS SINGING?
Only after the page turn is the bird identified, in a short verse that introduces the bird with the repetition of “Take a bow,” and provides more information about that bird and its song. The book covers the songs of American Robin, Cardinal, Blue Jay, Goldfinch, Gray Catbird, Chickadee, Nuthatch, Pigeon, Killdeer, Crow, Barred Owl, and Ovenbird.
Answer format in WHO IS SINGING?
The backmatter for Who is Singing? includes a variety of fun facts about bird songs and calls. Janet noted that one of the most surprising fun facts for her was that some birds can sing with their beaks closed or full of food. She also included an activity to explain that a bird’s song or call does not sound the same to everyone, and suggested that readers and listeners come up with their own words to describe how a song sounds to them.
Who Is Singing? can be found at bookstores off and online. It is available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book, and soon will be released as an audio book that includes both the birds’ fun phrases and their actual songs and calls.
For North American birders with preschool and early elementary aged children in their lives, this book is a good fit as an initial guide to bird identification by sound, with its mnemonic phrases that serve as an easy entry into the joys of birdwatching. The bright, stylized illustrations will capture the interest of these youngest listeners.
Who is Singing?, written by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Chrissy Chabot
Belle Isle Books, 2026; ISBN: 978-1966369745; 36 pages, ages 3-8
Leave a Comment