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Terrible, Terrible Birds!

The (Mostly) True Story of Two Featherbrained Falcons Who Learned from Their Mistakes

Author Betsy Bird
Illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Hardcover
$18.99 US
9"W x 11"H | 20 oz | 24 per carton
On sale Feb 23, 2027 | 48 Pages | 9780593902783
Age 4-8 years | Preschool - 3

A funny (and true!) picture book about the silly mistakes two famous peregrine falcons made trying to raise a chick on the Evanston Public Library from librarian Betsy Bird and Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell.

Meet Coach Kevin and Teca, one of Evanston Public Library’s famous peregrine falcon couples. They wanted to start a family, and luckily for them, the library was a perfect nesting site! But raising their chick was not easy in the beginning. Though we think animals know how to do everything by instinct, they make mistakes and have to learn from them just like us. And these birds made nothing BUT mistakes! 

In this engaging story, groan and cheer along with the adults and kids at the library as they observe these two falcons and their many attempts to raise their chicks—from neglecting to sit on their eggs to dropping a pigeon onto their new baby’s head—before they finally get it right.
Betsy Bird is the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library, and the former Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. Betsy reviews for Kirkus, served on the 2007 Newbery Award committee, and her children's literature blog, A Fuse #8 Production, is hosted by School Library Journal. Betsy is the author of the picture book Giant Dance Party (Greenwillow, 2013) illustrated by Brandon Dorman, and a co-author on the nonfiction book Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature (Candlewick, 2014) which she wrote with fellow bloggers Julie Danielson and Peter Sieruta. View titles by Betsy Bird
Matthew Cordell is the author and illustrator of many celebrated picture books for children, including the Caldecott Medal winner Wolf in the Snow, Evergreen, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Hello Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mr. Rogers, a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, and the Cornbread and Poppy series, which Booklist in a starred review has called “a rewarding choice for young readers.” Matthew lives outside of Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children. View titles by Matthew Cordell

About

A funny (and true!) picture book about the silly mistakes two famous peregrine falcons made trying to raise a chick on the Evanston Public Library from librarian Betsy Bird and Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell.

Meet Coach Kevin and Teca, one of Evanston Public Library’s famous peregrine falcon couples. They wanted to start a family, and luckily for them, the library was a perfect nesting site! But raising their chick was not easy in the beginning. Though we think animals know how to do everything by instinct, they make mistakes and have to learn from them just like us. And these birds made nothing BUT mistakes! 

In this engaging story, groan and cheer along with the adults and kids at the library as they observe these two falcons and their many attempts to raise their chicks—from neglecting to sit on their eggs to dropping a pigeon onto their new baby’s head—before they finally get it right.

Author

Betsy Bird is the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library, and the former Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. Betsy reviews for Kirkus, served on the 2007 Newbery Award committee, and her children's literature blog, A Fuse #8 Production, is hosted by School Library Journal. Betsy is the author of the picture book Giant Dance Party (Greenwillow, 2013) illustrated by Brandon Dorman, and a co-author on the nonfiction book Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature (Candlewick, 2014) which she wrote with fellow bloggers Julie Danielson and Peter Sieruta. View titles by Betsy Bird
Matthew Cordell is the author and illustrator of many celebrated picture books for children, including the Caldecott Medal winner Wolf in the Snow, Evergreen, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Hello Neighbor!: The Kind and Caring World of Mr. Rogers, a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, and the Cornbread and Poppy series, which Booklist in a starred review has called “a rewarding choice for young readers.” Matthew lives outside of Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children. View titles by Matthew Cordell