There’s a whimsical little children’s book, Tweak Tweak, written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier…

The story is about very curious Baby Elephant and her wonderfully patient Mama Elephant as they go for a walk one morning.

Mama Elephant tells Baby Elephant to hold on to her tail and tweak twice if she has any questions while on their little walk.

The tweak-tweaking begins almost immediately… about a jumping frog, a climbing monkey, a swimming crocodile, a flying butterfly and a singing Songbird.  Baby Elephant wants to know if she can do all of the things that these creatures do.

Mama Elephant tells Baby Elephant, “No,” she cannot do what these creatures do… but that she can stomp, scratch on a tree, spray water with her trunk, swish her ears like a butterfly’s wings… and that ROARING is her sound, just like singing is the Songbird’s sound

Mama Elephant also tells Baby Elephant that she can always ask questions and learn, and grow to be a big, strong, smart, beautiful elephant.

What we discover in Tweak Tweak is gentle,  honest love between Mama and Baby… a love that encourages question and answers and wonderful things about being YOU.

We also discover a lovely Songbird in a fig tree who sings so melodiously that she enchants Baby Elephant.

But what is the real tweet-tweet on the Songbird in real-life ?  Here are a few little tidbits to pass along to your kids and grandkids to combine literature and life:

– Some Songbirds are known more specifically by their names… such as the Yellow Warbler, the Yellow-Throated Warbler, the Indigo Bunting (hey, that’s the author’s last name), the Cedar Waxwing, the Carolina Wren, the Eastern Meadowlark, the Northern Mockingbird, the American Robin and so many, many more.

– Songbirds are known as perching birds for the way they hold on to tree branches with their toes.

– Songbirds, of course, SING. Some Songbirds contract their vocal muscles so quickly that it’s 100 times faster than a human being can blink.  Now, that’s fast.

– The speed of some Songbirds’ vocal muscles are similar to those of the rattlesnake.

– Songbirds can change the position and stiffness of their vocal folds to create the volume and frequency of their songs.

– Songbirds sing to communicate their territory, whereabouts of other birds and as mating calls.

–  Songbirds eat insects, berries, seeds, fruit and nectar.

Ah.  The Songbird in real-life.

Reading the book Tweak Tweak with your kids and grandkids, with a little knowledge of the Songbird in real-life, gives you so much to discuss… and your kids so much to think about as they embrace the literature.

The story gives us a great opportunity to talk with our kids about creatures and their individual characteristics… and of birds and their songs.

The story also gives us a beautiful way to emphasize the beauty, the wonder, the skills and the SOUNDS of ourselves.

Get outside today and listen for the songs of Songbirds and the songs of each other!  

Join me here each day in August for AUGUST TWEET-TWEETS on 365 Days of Literacy for Kids! A little fun, a little learning and a bit of “tweet-tweet”!