For Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer, the idea for their new book started with a simple question: If you touch a baby bird, would its mother abandon it?
After writing their first kid-friendly book, “The Kids’ Outdoor Adventure Guide,” the Milwaukee-based authors received hundreds of questions from readers. But this one intrigued them the most because children (and a lot of adults) believe it is true — which often prevents people from returning a baby bird to its nest.
In reality, a human’s scent is not strong enough for a bird to detect; what’s more, birds’ parenting instincts are extremely strong, and this would not compel a bird to reject its young, the authors explain in “The Truth About Nature: A Family’s Guide to 144 Common Myths about the Great Outdoors” (Falcon Guides).
“(Kids) are the next generation,” Tornio said. “If we can stop these myths from being circulated, then we’ll all be better off. Kids are like sponges, soaking up information, so let’s make sure they’re soaking up the right information.”
In addition to myth-busting, the authors include kid-friendly activities (how to make sun prints, or create a cloud in a jar, to name two).
