Birdgirl- Looking to the Skies in Search of a Better Future by Mya-Rose Craig
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Web ID: 168498935 reviews
Extraordinary Book
This book belongs at the top of every best seller list. It’s much more than a story about seeing birds. It's a blend of her adventures finding rare birds, her family’s incredible challenges, and her growth into an adult. The amazing genius of this book is: The tone of her story changes as she matures. At first, it’s a child's factual travelog about birding trips. Then it becomes a provocative collection of her reflections, lessons, insights, feelings, and commitments as she grows into a young adult. I found this to be especially powerful.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Watch out world, Birdgirl is here!
I always love to tout books that highlight the importance of saving our environment, not only for the benefit of the human race, but also for the rest of this world's inhabitants. Mya-Rose Craig has written her story in these pages - a personal story "uplifted" by the birds she has found on all seven continents she has visited, and a story about the effect climate change is having on these special feathered creatures. This young environmental activist includes personal stories about her upbringing, including her mother's battle with mental illness. It is a detailed account of her life and the guidance she has received along the way. I would say this book is best suited for birdwatchers and environmentalists. There are many technical details of birdwatching included in these pages that would appeal to those whose hobby or passion includes naturalism. I must also add how impressed I am by this young lady's wisdom at such a young age. And she's only just getting started. Watch out, world - Birdgirl is here! Many thanks to Celadon Books for this enlightening book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Engaging, inspiring and important
This is a memoir written by Dr. Mya-Rose Craig, known on social media as ‘Birdgirl’ a twenty-year-old birdwatcher, environmental, social-justice and anti-racism activist and mental health advocate. Mya-Rose's parents inspired her interest in birds, taking her birdwatching from a very early age, and, as a result, she became the youngest person to see 3000+ bird species. Birdgirl describes the family's quests for birdlife in the UK and globally. The stories about their persistence and dedication to see some bird species are fascinating, as are the birds themselves. The impact of the natural world on mental health is a strong theme, as Mya-Rose's mother struggles with bipolar disorder. Mya-Rose discusses how her mother's illness affects her family and how bird watching counteracts her mother's symptoms. As Mya-Rose observes birds in their environments, she reflects on how complex social issues and climate change affect local ecosystems. She also realized how little BIPOC representation there is in both the birding community and in environmental and wildlife protection organizations. These observations inspired Mya-Rose to organize nature camps for visible minorities, found a charity called Black2Nature, and become an activist. Birdgirl is an engaging, inspiring and important book. Thank you to Celadon Books for a gifted copy.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
I enjoyed reading the memoir Birdgirl
Author Mya-Rose Craig was raised in Bristol, England, by parents who were involved with the hobby of "twitching"--a new term for me--to describe birdwatching to an almost obsessive level. Craig grew up shuttling across the country, as well as seven continents, to catch sight of rare birds, observing over 5,000 birds by the time she was a teenager. She also chronicles her mother's severe bipolar mental illness in her memoir in a poignant way and her struggles with diagnosis, medications, and treatments. I could feel Mya's joy as she describes the thrill of filling her bird list with exciting sightings of birds such as hummingbirds and eagles, etc, and then the confusion she felt living with a mentally ill mother. Finally Mya shares in her memoir her resolve to work against the threats of climate change that threaten both bird habitats and our future. If you are a bird lover, a naturalist, or care for our environment, you will enjoy reading "Birdgirl: Looking to the Skies in Search of a Better Future."
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Remarkable Young Woman
Mya-Rose Craig is an exceptional young woman, an environmental activist and champion for inclusiveness, and member of the white male dominated worldwide ‘twitching community’–the British term for a bird watcher. Although, watching isn’t quite the right word. I am a bird watcher. I notice birds all the time, note new ones to me in a book. Craig’s family traveled across the world for a glimpse of rare birds! Craig had visited all the continents before she had graduated high school. Bird watching was their joy, and it was therapeutic for Craig’s mother as it helped her cope with bipolar disorder. Craig has accumulated a massive, world-wide following on social media as Birdgirl. Now twenty, her first book is out, a memoir about birds, family, and growing up. Craig struggled to fit in; her mother is Bangladeshi, and the family bird obsession and her encyclopedic knowledge set her apart from her peers. As a teenager, she organized the Black to Nature camp and created a Race Equality and Nature Conference. She has received an honorary PhD, so you can call her Dr. Craig. The bulk of the memoir takes us with her family as they twitch, locally in Britain and across the world, including South America, Africa, America, Indonesia, and Antarctica. Each chapter begins with a drawing and profile of a bird they hoped to see. Craig describes the hardships the family endured and the joys of discovering a rare and beautiful, often threatened species. Craig’s personal and family struggles are interspersed. She also documents how her family supported her to accomplish what she could imagine. None of it came easily. The message of the memoir is one of empowerment and an impassioned plea to protect our beautiful and fragile world. Thanks to Celadon Books for an ARC.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com