The Little Book Of Garden Bird Songs: Interactive sound book for young birdwatchers: Part of the Little Book of Sounds Series for Children Aged 3 to 8 Years

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And even those who can recite all of “the three hundred”: if you are unable to apply the poems flexibly creatively according to context, “what use is there for them?” In short, it was never about what the songs – all of them anonymous – originally meant, or where they came from. It was always about something else: how can you make them mean something new? A scene which, some may say, in the greater scheme of the whole book pales into insignificance but is still very well worth mentioning, is the extremely erotic, yet tastefully presented, first sexual encounter between Stephen and Isabelle, which occurs early on in the story. There are other encounters throughout the book, but I found this to be one of the most sexually arousing pieces of writing that I have ever read. It omits just the right amount of detail to allow the reader's imagination to run riot. Amazing! The title is evocative. I found several reasons to entitle the book this way, not least Stephen's declaration regarding his feelings about birds and the reasons behind those feelings. When you read the book, keep the title in your mind. Seeking the meaning adds an extra dimension to your reading. i don't understand why it has so much critical acclaim, i don't understand why i'm studying it at A Level, and i don't understand why it's one of the nation's favourite novels. i don't understand. I am driven by a greater force than I can resist. I believe that force has its own reason and it's own morality even if they may never be clear to me while I am alive."

So, consider yourself warned. This book contains the stuff of nightmares. And it's not just the dreadful tunnels, it is the unrelenting, unfathomable misery of the World War I battlefields. What is it about this war? All war is hideous, but there is something about this war-the number of casualties, the waves and waves of young men released onto the battlefields as cannon fodder, the squalor of the trenches, the chemicals-it was a war that obliterated a generation. Many of those who survived became empty shells, having left their hope and their souls and in some cases, their minds, to the battlefields of the Somme, Passchendaele, Verdun, Ypres. It was not his death that mattered; it was the way the world had been dislocated. It was not all the tens of thousands of deaths that mattered; it was the way they had proved that you could be human yet act in a way that was beyond nature." Halfway through the story we jump to 1978, where Elizabeth Benson has taken a sudden interest in her grandfather, Stephen Wraysford and the fate of the men who died in or limped home from the trenches of World War I. Here the narrative stumbles a bit. Elizabeth, now in her late 30s, seems entirely unaware of the horrors of The Great War. This rang utterly false. "No one told me," she says upon seeing the battlefields and monuments of the Somme. I think a British citizen of her generation would have been well aware of the magnitude of that war. But Faulks gives Elizabeth a strong voice and her own personal dilemmas that bring the existential quest for meaning and truth full circle. We don't stay in late 70s London for long, but we dip in and out until the novel's end as Elizabeth's story becomes woven into her grandfather's.When the book begins Stephen is an impetuous twenty year old. War is not yet in his future. There are a few references to the song of birds and how this sound is annoying to him. This will not always be the case. As we follow Stephen through his horrific war experiences, we realize how he is maturing - not just aging but developing a new humanity. His courage and his desire to survive are vivid and beautifully detailed. The song of birds, once so annoying, becomes the sound of hope and life. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger really applies here. Birdsong is a historical drama about WWI. Whenever I read about the tragedies of war I realize that had I been a soldier I never would have mentally recovered from the atrocities witnessed. Stephen, the main character, does recover but at a great cost. I can't even contain the hatred I feel for this one. It's just horrible. Everything and I mean everything about it, is just horrible. Francoise: “No. There was an epidemic. It killed millions of people in Europe just after the end of the war.”

whenever anyone asks me what my least favourite book is, i always say this, which seems odd considering it's been voted as the 100 best books on a bbc list or whatever it was.I could not stop listening to this book. It is wonderful. I just finished. I haven't been able to do anything except listen to this book. Excellent narration by Peter Firth. I loved it. I loved all the emotion - horror of war and passionate love. And great lines and so much to think about...... Can I collect my thoughts?! He's frightened that it doesn't make sense, that there is no purpose. He's afraid that he has somehow strayed into the wrong life." This charming book is a fun (and potentially addictive) way for all ages to delight in nature's winged singers. It's a winning gift for any occasion, from a child's birthday to a hostess gift.

oh yeah and all the women want children??? literally all of them??? excuse me but having children is not the be all and end all of womanhood. At a certain point, I was just as fed up with the war as the soldiers in the story. Elizabeth’s episodes were cleverly inserted by the author to provide me for the breaks like Stephen had during the war.And I know people who are reading this will be like… woah spoilers, but that’s the thing. If you know anything about the war, whether it’s due to an interest in history, you’ve read books, you’ve listened to your grandparent’s talking about it… you know that this actually happened. this is an amazing little book! we have all of these birds in our neighbourhood here in Southern Ontario. my kids play-to-learn a lot for their homeschooling and since I bought the book the day before yesterday they have learned enough of the birds to be correcting each other via the sounds! this is a wonderful and extremely easy way to teach my kids about our local fauna!! I'm absolutely seeking out the other books! I also wish there were more for the birds in our area <3 Of course as is my rule, I always have to read and review the books before I gift them to make sure the stories are good and, if from my childhood, remain relevant and appropriate! usually, when i study a book, my appreciation and enjoyment of it multiplies tenfold. take, for example, the great gatsby, which i had liked previously but became one of my favourite books of all time when i began to study it. Sebastien Faulks won my heart with his WWII espionage book, Charlotte Gray. Well, right until that ending that left me scratching my head. But Birdsong truly moved me and is quite simply- an AMAZING book. It is less the romance, but Stephen's time on the frontlines and his time with his men that was truly the gem of the book.

commenting on its behavior, instead of playing. Then he demanded that we take a picture to share with the family! But there is humor and passionate love too. Their is death and there is birth. There is hope and despair. The story takes place during WW1 in the trenches in France. It also has events set later, in the 70s. Most authors cannot switch between different time periods. In this book the two are wonderfully intertwined. This book has everything. It is exciting and horribly moving and oh so wonderful. It is like life: full of the worst and most wonderful. I found that the frame story, actually a dual frame, diminished the war story tremendously. In fact I wondered, prior to the war story beginning, whether I would want to complete reading the book. From lovelorn soldiers, knee-deep in French mud, to privileged ladies taking tea in Blighty, Birdsong is a war story that appeals to both sexes. Class war/ real war; there are so many dimensions to this thunderous epic.Elizabeth’s love story echoed her grandmother’s but with its own spirals— History Does Not Repeat Itself, But It Rhymes . With this groundbreaking and easy-to-use RSPB guide, Adrian Thomas helps you learn and identify bird sounds step by step and at your own pace. Whether you are an experienced birdwatcher or just enjoy hearing the birds in your garden, this new guide will open your ears like never before to the amazing songs and calls around you.