Pretty Birds

In the spring of 1992, Irena Zaric is a star on her high school basketball team, a tough, funny teenager who has taught her parrot, Pretty Bird, to do a decent imitation of a ball hitting a hoop. Irena wears her hair short like K.D. Lang's, and she loves

The universally respected NPR journalist and bestselling memoirist Scott Simon makes a dazzling fiction debut. In Pretty Birds, Simon creates an intense, startling, and tragicomic portrait of a classic character–a young woman in the besieged city of Sarajevo in the early 1990s. In the spring of 1992, Irena Zaric is a star on her Sarajevo high school basketball team, a tough, funny teenager who has taught her parrot, Pretty Bird, to do a decent imitation of a ball hitting a hoop. Irena wears her hair short like k. d. lang’s, and she loves Madonna, Michael Jordan, and Johnny Depp. But while Irena rocks out and shoots baskets with her friends, her beloved city has become a battleground. When the violence and terror of “ethnic cleansing” against Muslims begins, Irena and her family, brutalized by Serb soldiers, flee for safety across the river that divides the city. If once Irena knew of war only from movies and history books, now she knows its reality. She steals from the dead to buy food. She scuttles under windows in her own home to dodge bullets. She risks her life to communicate with an old Serb school friend and teammate. Even Pretty Bird has started to mimic the sizzle of mortar fire. In a city starved for work, a former assistant principal offers Irena a vague job, “duties as assigned,” which she accepts. She begins by sweeping floors, but soon, under the tutelage of a cast of rogues and heroes, she learns to be a sniper, biding her time, never returning to the same perch, and searching her targets for the “mist” that marks a successful shot. Ultimately, Irena’s new vocation will lead to complex and cataclysmic consequences for herself and those she loves. As a journalist, Scott Simon covered the siege of Sarajevo. Here, in a novel as suspenseful as a John le Carré thriller, he re-creates the atmosphere of that place and time and the pain and dark humor of its people. Pretty Birds is a bold departure, and the auspicious beginning of yet another brilliant career for its author.

Create colorful peacocks, cheerful canaries, and adorable penguins with these simple, beautiful projects to sew and love. With pattern templates included and step-by-step instructions, you can creatively put together pretty bird crafts for your friends, and even more for yourself! The birds you create are not just unique and cute decorations but also little critters than can double as plushies, pillows, and more. Before you know it you'll have dozens of unique birds decorating your home. Pretty Birds is a must-have for avid bird lovers and crafters alike.

Behind Sami, the Syrian skyline is full of smoke. The boy follows his family and all his neighbours in a long line, as they trudge through the sands and hills to escape the bombs that have destroyed their homes. But all Sami can think of is his pet pigeons - will they escape too? When they reach a refugee camp and are safe at last, everyone settles into the tent city. But though the children start to play and go to school again, Sami can't join in. When he is given paper and paint, all he can do is smear his painting with black. He can't forget his birds and what his family has left behind. One day a canary, a dove, and a rose finch fly into the camp. They flutter around Sami and settle on his outstretched arms. For Sami it is one step in a long healing process at last. A gentle yet moving story of refugees of the Syrian civil war, My Beautiful Birds illuminates the ongoing crisis as it affects its children. It shows the reality of the refugee camps, where people attempt to pick up their lives and carry on. And it reveals the hope of generations of people as they struggle to redefine home.

Lose yourself in a cacophony of coloring in as you bring these exotic birds to life!

Create colorful peacocks, cheerful canaries, and adorable penguins with these simple, beautiful projects to sew and love. With pattern templates included and step-by-step instructions, you can creatively put together pretty bird crafts for your friends, and even more for yourself! The birds you create are not just unique and cute decorations but also little critters than can double as plushies, pillows, and more. Before you know it you'll have dozens of unique birds decorating your home. Pretty Birds is a must-have for avid bird lovers and crafters alike.

With captivating illustrations, 'Beautiful Birds' is a perfect companion for kids, bird-watchers, and wildlife enthusiasts. It is ideal for everyone who wishes to enjoy the world's rich and varied bird life. The book was designed especially for children to help them learn everything they need to know about the wonderful feathered friends. Contents include: Why Beautiful Birds are Killed Birds of Paradise The Great Bird of Paradise The Red Bird of Paradise The Lesser, Black, Blue, and Golden Birds of Paradise About all Birds of Paradise, and some Explanations About Humming-Birds, and some more Explanations Some very Bright Humming-Birds Hermit Humming-Birds and Two Other Ones The Cock-of-the-Rock and the Lyre-Bird The Resplendent Trogon and the Argus Pheasant White Egrets, "Ospreys," and Ostrich-Feathers

A compact, comprehensive, and very silly field guide featuring more than 200 of the rudest birds on earth—from the creator of the Webby Award–winning hit Instagram account! Effin’ Birds is the most eagerly anticipated new volume in the grand and noble profession of nature writing and bird identification. Sitting proudly alongside Sibley, Kaufman, and Peterson, this book contains more than 150 pages crammed full of classic, monochrome plumage art paired with the delightful but dirty aphorisms (think “I’m going to need more booze to deal with this week”) that made the Effin’ Birds feed a household name. Also included in its full, Technicolor glory is John James Audubon’s most beautiful work matched with modern life advice. Including never-before-seen birds, insults, and field notes, this guide is a must-have for any effin’ fan or birder.