Peggy Arnold-Hoobler grew up loving the outdoors in Southern Colorado at the foot of the Spanish Peaks. She spent many hours listening to the buoyant, flutelike, warbled melody of the Western Meadowlark. She was inspired to write a song about her favorite bird and thus created this children's book to share the joy of this magnificent bird. The Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 8.5 in (22 cm) long. It nests on the ground in open country in western and central North America grassland. It feeds mostly on insects but also seeds and berries. This colorful member of the blackbird family flashes a vibrant yellow breast crossed by a distinctive black V-shaped band. Look and listen for these stout ground feeders in grasslands, meadows, pastures, and along marsh edges throughout the West and Midwest.

An examination, including musical annotation, of the songs of the Meadow-Lark.

Only in this generation had Albert and his family been Mennonites. Sometimes they struggled with the tenets of this new faith, far more restrictive than the Lutheranism of their early years. Along with the stresses of adhering to this new way of life, one that effectively cut them off from communication even with close relatives who lived nearby, was the added struggle of living through the years of the Dustbowl, when for all who lived on farms through those times, the ‘wolf’ of poverty was always at the door. Ultimately, the decision of the family to leave the land of the beloved family homestead, was made both harder and easier by the economic realties of that historic time.

Urges readers to explore the God-given passions within their hearts, thus living life more fully while honoring their faith.

Presents the songs and calls of fifty North American birds that are common to residential settings, city parks, and urban areas.