Mary Ann
You probably know Amy Tan from her international best seller, The Joy Luck Club, and other novels such as The Bonesetter’s Daughter. She is a talented and engaging storyteller introducing the country and world to her Chinese heritage through vivid tales with universal themes that can be identified by everyone.
So, it has been interesting to see her writing a book about birds, just birds! The Backyard Bird Chronicles is her personal journey into nature journaling documenting avian activity in her own backyard, and you discovered this gifted writer is an extraordinary artist as well. The chronicles begins on September 16, 2017, until December 15, 2022, during much of the Covid Pandemic. Many people during the Covid shutdown became birders – the birds were freer to move around than we were.
Tan did her nature journal training with John Muir Laws who is kind of the guru of this art form. Natural journaling is at a crossroads where the sciences and the arts come together. You sketch what you observe and document the behaviors you see among the animals or whatever. The chronicles follow her five years of observations and her comments about what she saw. She was leaning about the birds she encountered – what they ate, their nests, their bird songs, their eggs, and myriads of other details. Her sketching is charming, and her writing clearly capture the nature of the birds. However, the cherry on top of this book are the bird portraits that she does. Tan draws feather as if they could flutter off the pages. The artwork is a gift to the eye.
I love nature journaling and teach classes in it for children and adults. I have been doing it for over 20 years. If you love animals and nature, this is a wonderful hobby to adopt. It is peaceful and nurturing to your soul. I have seen very active children calm down and become engrossed in nature and sketching while getting lost in time. Just reading The Backyard Bird Chronicles may spur you on to try it and will incent you to enjoy some quiet time with nature, and you can do it right in your own backyard. All you need is a blank tablet or book, a pencil, and colored pencils. No one is going to judge your artwork. You could draw stick figures – it is more the process than the product.
There are online free tutorials presented by John Muir Laws (JohnMuirLaws.com) that instruct nature journaling fundamentals. At the end of The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Tan list bird resource books that can introduce you to our feathered friends.
I love hummingbirds, and Tan taught me a few things about them that I did not know. One of these days I will try a hand feeder. The hummers need to trust me more, yet when you hear the thrum of their wings near your ear, you can have your own trust issues. They do have little swords for beaks!
The Backyard Bird Chronicles is a joyful read and Tan’s artwork is just lovely adding so much to the text. It is almost as if you were right there with Tan and seeing the birds as she does. As I look back on the book, I am still astonished that she spent thousands of dollars on meal worms. The birds were her babies, and they ate well. I hope she will follow up with another chronicle again sharing her gift of words and her artistic talents! One unknown author has said, “The greatest gift of birds is their ability to bring a sense of wonder and joy into our lives.” Amy Tan discovered this. I hope you will as well.
Silver Sage Sisters 