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Home LOVE OUR ANIMAL COMPANIONS! The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley
The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley

The Backyard Bird Chronicles — By Amy Tan, Foreword by David Allen Sibley

$30.00 USD

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“Amy Tan’s bird journals can change the way you see the world. They show that stories, mysteries, humor, and beauty are all around us if we take the time to pay attention. They remind us that we never stop learning and growing, and if we put in the work, we can learn and master new skills. These journals invite us to look out of our own windows with fresh eyes and wonder.”

— John Muir Laws, author of The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds

“Tan is a tremendously charming emissary from the world of birding . . . [Her] curiosity, along with a sharp eye and a novelist’s penchant for narrative, has been channeled into an absorbing, quirky book of days focused on the avian ecosystem Tan has established in her Sausalito backyard . . . The intensity of Tan’s love for her visitors makes The Backyard Bird Chronicles an unexpectedly moving account regardless of your level of interest in bird-watching. Because while the book is about goldencrowned sparrows and Cooper’s hawks and hummingbirds, it’s also a book about survival, adaptation, and chance.”

— Francie Lin, The Boston Globe

“Tan’s observations of her avian guests, recorded in journal form, are both entertaining and informative. And the drawings that illustrate her musings are remarkable . . . Like the early naturalists, Tan learns by watching, bringing no preconceptions, and it’s a pleasure to sit with her as she observes and accumulates knowledge. She takes careful notes, she sketches what she sees and she tries to draw conclusions . . . Fun, messy spontaneity, it turns out, can make for an awfully good book.”

— Sue Horton, Los Angeles Times

“Much of great writing comes from great interest, and in The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan shows us how the world fascinates her, especially the birds. The result is both unexpected and spectacular.”

— Ann Patchett, author of These Precious Days
 
“What an enchanting and illuminating book! How lucky for us that Amy Tan has turned her genius, her deep empathy and insight, her keen eye for what is telling, to birds. Every page of these chronicles radiates warm curiosity, wonder, and delight.”

— Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds

“This is one of the most infectious and convincing books about nature I’ve read. For the bird-watcher, the would-be bird-watcher, or for the bird-watching skeptic, this offers great delight and unexpected intrigue. Through Tan’s ecstatic eyes, what could be a dry treatise on ornithological happenings becomes something far more fun and much more profound. It’s really a book about seeing.” 

— Dave Eggers, author of Ungrateful Mammals

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A gorgeous, witty account of birding, nature, and the beauty around us that hides in plain sight, written and illustrated by the best-selling author of The Joy Luck Club • With a foreword by David Allen Sibley

Several years ago, Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the world: Hatred and misinformation became a daily presence on social media, and the country felt more divisive than ever. In search of peace, Tan turned toward the natural world just beyond her window and, specifically, the birds visiting her yard.

But what began as an attempt to find solace turned into something far greater—an opportunity to savor quiet moments during a volatile time, connect to nature in a meaningful way, and imagine the intricate lives of the birds she admired.

For more than thirty years, Tan has established herself as one of our most important storytellers. The Backyard Bird Chronicles will appeal to novice and experienced bird-watchers alike, as well as environmentalists.

Tracking the natural beauty that surrounds us, The Backyard Bird Chronicles maps the passage of time through daily entries, thoughtful questions, and beautiful original sketches. With boundless charm and wit, author Amy Tan charts her foray into birding and the natural wonders of the world.

Tan’s original color sketches throughout The Backyard Bird Chronicles are notably impressive and add a level of depth to the project.

The entire book is printed in full color, and includes several finely rendered and exquisite portraits of birds, making this book—with its jacket, preprinted case, and flexibound body—a perfect gift for backyard birders everywhere.

THE DETAILS

FORMAT: New, flexibound cover

PUBLISHED: April 23, 2024

ISBN: 9780593536131

PUBLISHER: Knopf

PAGES: 320 - 132 drawings, sketches and full-color illustrations by the author

DIMENSIONS: 8.3" inches H x  6.3" inches W  x 1 in T

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Amy Tan

Amy Tan is the author of several novels, including The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter. She is a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club and is on the board of American Bird Conservancy.

David Allen Sibley

There are 47 million birdwatchers. But there is only one David Sibley.

He knows every North American bird: by its shade, by its tilt, by its habitat, by its male, female, and juvenile plumages. It’s only natural; he’s the son of a Yale ornithologist and has been birding since his childhood in Connecticut.

Sibley was only seven when he began drawing birds, filing his illustrations away along with clips about the natural history of each species.

It’s a habit he never shook. As an adult, Sibley merged that encyclopedic knowledge with his skills as a self-taught artist to become one of America’s best-known field guide authors.

His first bird guide was released in 2000. With The Sibley Field Guide to Birds, a New York Times bestseller, Sibley was immediately hailed as heir to the great birder and artist Roger Tory Peterson, placing him in a long line of artist-naturalist hybrids that leads straight back to John James Audubon himself.

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