Barbara Herkert

by Barbara Herkert art by Gordy Wright Review posted August 3, 2026. Tilbury House Publishers, 2026. 36 pages. Review written July 29, 2026, from a library book. Starred Review Absolutely no one who follows me on Facebook will be surprised that I love this nonfiction picture book about great blue herons. There's a small lake (or a large pond) outside my window, and a friendly neighborhood heron can often be found there, hunting.

An immersive portrait of a truly magnificent creature. On each spread, four poetic lines of text detail the birds’ breeding season, the use of present tense conveying a you-are-there immediacy. Wright’s accurate, freely sketched watercolorlike artwork, dominated by subdued hues of blue-gray, depicts these birds from a variety of perspectives. Sidebars relate further information (size, wingspan, diet, nesting and courtship, and the growth and maturation of the chicks).

. Jun. 2026. 40p. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781668955130. Gr 1-3 COPY ISBN Gr 1-3–This book describes what happens each year in a heronry, a nesting colony for Great Blue Herons. It does not spell out what a heronry is but has readers figure it out from context. It begins with the first arrival of the male heron and continues up through the time when the baby herons or chicks are able to fly and hunt for themselves. This process happens each spring. The book follows a clear sequence of events.