A picture book for 3-6-year-olds, Whose Beak is This? lets children guess the identity of iconic New Zealand birds from the pictures of their beaks, while finding out some facts about the birds along the way. This fun approach introduces an important science concept about adaptation - birds' beaks are a very obvious adaptation to the kind of food they eat. Being encouraged to look closely at the pictures teaches observation skills and helps children realise how diverse bird species are.

 

This book was recognised in the Nonfiction - YA category by the New Zealand Book Award for Children and Young Adults.

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2015 by Potton & Burton .

GILLIAN CANDLER is an award-winning writer for children. Whose Beak is This? was an opportunity for her to write for a younger audience than the 'explore and discover' series, encouraging their curiosity, observation skills and wonder for the natural world. Gillian has a passion for nature and is an active member of Birds New Zealand and Forest and Bird. Her involvement in conservation projects has seen her feeding fairy prion chicks, counting birds, making seed balls and trapping pests. Gillian blogs about nature at ExploreDiscoverNature. blogspot. co. nz. She has a background in teaching and educational publishing and believes that picture books can be both fun and educational. FRASER WILLIAMSON is an internationally recognised artist/illustrator whose work ranges from large illustrative paintings to quirky children's books that try to amuse and entertain. Fraser wishes to portray characters and environments that allow for imagination and diversity. His work has featured in magazines, books and ad campaigns, both nationally and internationally, and he regularly exhibits his paintings at the Flagstaff Gallery in Devonport, many of which now adorn walls in Auckland, Melbourne, Finland, Malta and London. Fraser lives in Auckland with his wife Loisi and their son Antonio. They like to spend their time between Tonga, New Zealand and Spain. Ned Barraud is a talented illustrator with a passion for sea creatures. His work has been published frequently in the School Journal, and he illustrated The Earthquake and the Butterfly (2012). He works at Weta Digital as a texture artist and lives in Wellington, spending lots of time exploring the seashore with his three young children. Gillian Candler was a secondary-school teacher for many years before moving into educational publishing with Learning Media in Wellington, where she worked as an editor, project manager and eventually CEO. She currently works as an educational publishing consultant from her home in Pukerua Bay.