Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Undawnted Presents: A WordCrafter Blog Tour, My Backyard Friends, Meet Heather Hummingbird & Review of "Heather Hummingbird"

Flowery background. Digital copies of Heather Hummingbird, Timothy Turtle and Charlie Chickadee, and the My Backyard Friends logo in foreground on right. On left WordCrafter logo in foreground. 
Text: WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Presents The My Backyard Friends Kid's Book Series, written by Kaye Lynne Booth, Illustrated by Robbie Cheadle

Introduction

Heather Hummingbird is a busy little hummingbird bird who earns the nickname Hyperactive Heather which her forest friends have given her. She’s constantly on the move, gathering insects and nectar, chasing bees, or migrating from her winter to her summer home and back. But she always finds time to help out her friends, even when her help is only grudgingly accepted.

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Mini-Interview with Heather Hummingbird
[Interview with Heather Hummingbird]

Flowery landscape in background.
Text: Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend, Meet Heather Hummingbird
Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend on a digital device and My Backyard Friends Logo in foreground.
Excerpt:"Heather!" he called out. "What are you doing way up here?"
She flew across to a nearby tree and perched. Her flight was sluggish and slow. She didn't seem her usual zippy self.
"What is wrong?" he asked.
"It's time to fly south for the winter, but I spent too much time chasing bees," she replied. "They annoy me because they take all of the nectar. I was so busy chasing bees that I didn;t gather enough nectar to sustain my normal rythm. Now all the flowers are gone."

Forgive me if I don’t perch for very long. You see hummingbirds have lots of energy, so if I zip away suddenly, don’t worry. I’ll be right back. I’ll just be working up energy that is building up, like this .Zwippp.

Ziiing.

Were you afraid to speak to an eagle?

Well, no. I’d seen Ethan around the forest. He’s a big bird, but he’s a fledgling. I might even be older than him, so I wasn’t scared of him. Zwiiiipp.

Ziiiiiing. I couldn’t help but notice his curious behavior and when I realized I could help him, I did.
 

How did it feel to make a friend?

Well, I was glad to have him as a friend that autumn, when I couldn’t fly south on my own. That’s for sure.
 

How did it feel when you had to part with your new friend?

The trip south was a long one, and I felt really close to Ethan by the time we arrived. I knew he had to go back to the forest he knew, but it was sad watching him go. But I didn’t let it keep me down because I knew I’d see him again the next spring, and I did. Zwiiip.

Ziiiing

Thanks for having me here today, but I need to go find some flowers to recharge. You’d be amazed by how much nectar is required to keep up this pace. Bye. Zwiiiiip Zwing.

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My Review

My Backyard Friends, Heather Hummingbird edition, is a cute read for adults and children alike. Heather goes on her own adventure as she zips around the landscape. She meets other animals to be her friends.

Beautiful and insightful, this book guides readers on a path toward wisdom only found with a wildness full of backyard friends. 

Be sure to Pre-Order your copy below.

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Fun Facts About Hummingbirds

  • Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly forward, backward, sideways and upside-down. They are also the only birds that can hover in mid-air.
  • They have the highest metabolism of any bird species. They consume twice their weight each day.
  • Hummingbirds can beat their wings 70 times per second, and 200 times per second when diving. The males do elaborate aerial acrobats during the mating seasons to attract the females, traveling high up into the air and looping around to dive back down toward the ground, making a high-pitched whistling.
  • Some species of hummingbirds migrate up to 2,000 miles twice a year.
  • Their hearts can beat up to 1,260 times per minute.
  • Hummingbirds migrate great distances from their summer to winter homes and back, up to 3000 miles each trip, 6000 miles per year.
  • Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, averaging 8.5 cm long and weigh between 2.5–20 grams.
  • Hummingbirds have forked tongues and have tiny hairs on the tips of their tongues to help lap up nectar.
  • “On most hummingbirds, the coloring of the feathers does not come from pigmentation, but instead from prism-like cells within the top layer of feathers.
  • The colors you see depend on the angle of the light when it hits the feathers.
  • When hummingbird feathers reflect light, which make the gorget (throat patch) look like it’s glittering from certain angles, but at other angles will make the feathers look dull.” (Southwest Audobon. “Fun Facts About Hummingbirds”. 
    • https://southwest.audubon.org/conservation/fun-facts-about-hummingbirds)
  • When they are low on energy and no food source is available, hummingbirds go into a torpor state to conserve their reserves.

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Pre-order the My Backyard Friends books here:

Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/u/471vzj

Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/u/3LL5K7

Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home (Ages 6-8): https://books2read.com/u/md2YLO

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About Kaye Lynne Booth

Author Kaye Lynne Booth with a dogKaye Lynne Booth is a freelance writer, editor, multi-genre author and independent publisher. She holds dual MFA in Creative Writing – Genre Fiction and Screenwriting, and an M.A. in Publishing. To earn her publishing degree, she worked under the mentoring of International Bestselling author, Kevin J. Anderson on the Gilded Glass: Twisted Myths & Shattered Fairy Tales editorial team from Western State Colorado University and WordFire Press and she compiled and edited Weird Tales: The Best of the Early Years 1926-27, under Jonathan Maberry.

 
About Robbie Cheadle

South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

Find out more about Robbie Cheadle on her blog here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

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Undawnted's DL Mullan can be booked for your online Blog Tour, Book Event, Book Review (w/ARC), Interview, Writing Conference, or Genre Convention. Ms. Mullan has years of experience in public speaking, readings, presentations, events, and tours.

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