Youngsters
get to know the young hero and the adventures
that carry him toward manhood. As they come to know Jeremiah as a friend who would
understand their own growing pains, they look forward to each book in the
series.
Teachers
will Achieve..
Teachers will appreciate the ways
that Jeremiah Stokely novels, kits, and activities make literature
meaningful to children. Teachers can download free classroom idea
packets to hold a hand-on workshop based on each book.
Click the >Play button
to listen to the bird's song!
While many woodpecker species have a patch of red on
their heads, this one’s entire head and neck are nothing but red! It looks
as if it is wearing a red stocking mask. Its upper back and wings are solid
black. Its lower back and big patches of wing feathers are bright white, and
its tail is black. From top to bottom, this unforgettable bird appears
striped in red, black, white, black. The juvenile’s head is brownish, not
red, but it has most of the black and white markings of the adult.
The Red-headed Woodpecker is a quiet, inconspicuous
bird, seldom seen although it is common in the eastern half of the United
States. Its population is declining. In the summer, its range extends
westward to the Dakotas and eastern Montana. Its drumming on trees is weaker
and slower than that of other woodpeckers, as if it doesn’t want to draw
attention to itself. Its call is a loud, mournful croaking sound.
Its five white eggs are laid in an unlined nest cavity
in a tree, telephone pole, or fence post. They are often driven out of an
area by aggressive starlings, which then occupy the woodpeckers’ nest holes.
These woodpeckers love open farmland with dead or
dying trees, especially old orchards. They often “fly-catch,” swooping low
over a highway to catch insects in midair. They winter where acorns and
other wild nuts are plentiful, and they store nuts and acorns in holes and
crevices in trees.
