Bouler’s Birds

Olivia’s Birds: Saving the Gulf is reviewed by Debbie Glade.

I never read an Audubon book I didn’t like and Olivia’s Birds: Saving the Gulf ($14.95, Sterling, ages 3-9) is no exception. Author, Olivia Bouler, is a very special 11-year-old girl who loves birds so much that she started a campaign called “Save the Gulf” after the 2010 Gulf oil spill. By publication date of this book, she raised over $150,000 for recovery efforts, and since that time has raised another $50,000. Olivia’s Birds is essentially a field guide to birds Americans might find in their backyards or in the wild. Olivia, who has drawn more than 120 species of birds and painted over 500 pictures, illustrated the book herself.

Readers will not only be able to enjoy beautiful illustrations of many different species of birds, but they will discover where they live, what they eat and whether or not they are endangered. In the back of the book is a page that shows the letter Olivia initially wrote to the Audubon Society that started this project, a page with photo and information about the author and another with tips about what readers can do to help save the environment.

Olivia’s story is an inspiring one, and her book is sure to encourage other children to take action for what they believe in and make their own mark in the world.