Sylvia and the Birds

Overview

Part graphic biography, part practical guide to protecting our bird wildlife, this remarkable book for young readers and their families is fully committed to detailing the wonders of our native birds, the threats they face and how we can help them. Based on the life of ‘The Bird Lady’, Sylvia Durrant, who helped over 140,000 sick, injured and lost birds during her lifetime, it inspires a reverence for the natural world and is a call to action for all young ecologists and environmentalists.

With charming illustrations by Sarah Laing, an engrossing text, matauranga Maori insights, activities and how-tos, it offers hours of enchantment and engagement.

Whimsical, loving and layered, Sylvia and the Birds makes a unique contribution to children’s knowledge of the natural world.

Author Biography

Johanna Emeney teaches creative writing at Massey University, where she gained her PhD. She has published three books of poetry: Apple & Tree (2011), Family History (2017), and Felt (2021), and an academic book, The Rise of Autobiographical Medical Poetry and the Medical Humanities (2018). Johanna lives on a lifestyle block in North Auckland with her husband and a menagerie of animals.

Sarah Laing is a writer, illustrator and cartoonist. Her books are Coming up Roses (2007), Dead People’s Music (2009), Inside a Pomegranate, The Fall of Light (both 2013) and Mansfield and Me: A Graphic Memoir (2016). In 2010 she was the Sargeson Fellow and in 2013 the University of Auckland/Michael King Writers Centre Fellow.