Like many seven year olds, Calvin Huber enjoys reading, being outdoors and screen time on his parents’ mobile phones. But unlike most children his age, he combined these interests to publish a book.
‘Feathers on Fifth’ recounts Calvin’s experience in observing an American Robin family that made its home on New York’s Fifth Avenue this past spring. The book tells the egg-to-fledge story of the robin family in their low holly bush nest. The reader accompanies the family through the real life-and-death challenges that predators and the weather presented.
Calvin’s interest in birds was encouraged at school, where every first grade class at Manhattan Country School undertakes a bird study. This involves hatching chicks, researching a bird of choice, field trips with rangers in Central Park and a visit from the Wild Bird Center. Seeing these bird conservation efforts made an impression on this young nature lover, who became determined to contribute.
In the midst of the bird study, a teacher noticed a robin’s nest a block from the school and took the students to visit it. Enchanted by this discovery, Calvin convinced his parents to let him visit the nest every day and document what was happening. Over the course of weeks, he took photos, recorded video and speculated as to why the robins chose to nest along a busy road when they had all of Central Park to choose from.
Having used a number of books about birds for his school study and to find out more about robins, Calvin was inspired to write his own book that combined facts with his experience, images and imagination. The words were written with lots of discussion and Calvin’s mom helped him use the photos he and others had taken to create the watercolor-styled illustrations.
‘Feathers on Fifth’ is available online through
Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble | Booksellers can contact us directly or order copies through Ingram