Stillness is a blessing too often absent from the lives of today’s children. After a moment of stillness to tune your attention outward, quiet the inner commotion, and drink in the world through wide-open senses, you come back to yourself subtly refreshed and changed.
I saw that magic written on the face of my three-year-old grandson last summer. We were in the woods when he suddenly spotted a pileated woodpecker, that vivid, raucous, and enormous creature, land on a nearby tree and begin its wild drumming. For long moments, we stood motionless and stared. The little boy’s eyes were wide and shining, his lips slightly parted and, in his eagerness to absorb this dazzling wonder, he hardly dared breathe.
This is the true and secret allure of bird-watching, almost never mentioned in the more competitive world of “birders” who make lists and boast about numbers. I began birdwatching at the age of 12, when my family moved to an otherwise bleak new suburb with a wooded ravine nearby. Many of the moments when I spied on a warbler, a blue jay, or a white-throated sparrow, in that bush or many others over the years, are still bright in my memory. I remember the thump of my heart when I caught sight of a bird, the hush of excited observation, the stillness in which I tried to memorize every colour and flicker of my elusive target – and the image of the bird itself, busy in its private life. That often silent, intense activity of a tiny wild creature not only embodies the complex world of nature that surrounds us, but also jolts us out of our customary oblivion. Birdwatching means tuning in to the living world with quiet attentiveness.
I was deeply moved to share that first moment with my grandson. Now I’m waiting until he’s six or seven, when I can give him Robert Bateman’s ravishing Backyard Birds: An Introduction. Woven through with heartfelt but lightly invoked environmentalism, it’s a book to inspire, excite, and enlighten young readers.
Bateman, who grew up in Ontario but now lives on Salt Spring Island, B.C., is Canada’s most celebrated wildlife artist, and this book offers a glimpse into the wellspring of his art. In his introduction, Bateman tells how he fell in love with observing bird life one winter day when he was eight, and was hooked by the sight of a lively little chickadee. Tucked into a corner opposite the title page is a leaf from the 14-year-old Bateman’s sketchbook, crowded with accomplished drawings of birds, butterflies, and twigs.
Each double spread of Backyard Birds presents a full-page painting of a bird in its natural habitat (the blue jay sitting on frost-covered pine needles, the swallow perched in a barn window). Overlapping each painting is a facsimile of a lined notebook page with basic information about each species – size, voice, range, and food. On the facing page is a lively description of the bird’s most distinctive habits and characteristics. Hummingbirds can fly upside down (picture that!); the gray jay, known as the “camp robber,” may take food from your hand and save it by gluing it to a tree with sticky saliva.
In every paragraph, Bateman places himself in the shoes of young readers, suggesting how they might spot a red-tailed hawk overhead and know it by its tail shape, or how, if they’re lucky, they might hear an owl hoot from the deep woods or see a barn swallow swoop to a pond to drink on the wing. Adventure is alive in these pages.
This is no conventional bird book. Bateman pairs bird species in each double-page spread, one featured in a full-size painting, and another shown in smaller size at the bottom of the text page. Sometimes Bateman uses the pairing to show how a novice birder might distinguish between two similar sightings, such as the downy and hairy woodpeckers; sometimes he pairs a predator and prey, like the red-winged blackbird and the American crow. These thought-provoking couplings leave the reader with a sense of nature’s infinite possibilities, unlike the more static, cut-and-dried guides that are confined to identification.
Bateman’s naturalism is at its most affectionate and charming in these spirited illustrations. Equally appealing is his conversational ease in the accompanying prose, for which co-author Ian Coutts must share credit. In an unforced and uncondescending tone, Bateman conveys his keen interest and exuberant pleasure in the often surprising details of bird life.
Valuable additions to the book are the occasionally interspersed two-page descriptions of bird family life, migration patterns and senses, and notes on how to attract birds to your backyard. An epilogue talks about the important role birds play in our shared world and offers simple ways for young environmentalists to help them survive.
Throughout, the handsome art work, ample white space, decorative headings, and varied layout sustain interest and visual pleasure. The one startling flaw in this fine work is the absence of either a contents page or an index, although Bateman does offer a simple ornithological glossary at the end.
Unlike many other non-fiction works produced for young readers, this volume resonates with an authenticity of feeling and delight. There’s no pandering to the kiddies with cartoonish blandishments, juvenile jokes, and hyperactive marginalia. Bateman respects both his subject matter and his readers, many of whom will respond with a quickened interest in the natural world.
An enticing gift would be a package of the Bateman volume with one or both of Renee Schwarz’s how-to books, Birdfeeders and Birdhouses (Kids Can Press). Both books carry a range of sprightly and amusing projects for young do-it-yourselfers, with clear, step-by-step directions and drawings and photographs of the finished product. Most of the projects require the use of drills, saws, and other tools requiring adult guidance, and though not all the designs are the last word in practicality, they’re all ingenious enough to tempt handy kids to get involved.
I saw that magic written on the face of my three-year-old grandson last summer. We were in the woods when he suddenly spotted a pileated woodpecker, that vivid, raucous, and enormous creature, land on a nearby tree and begin its wild drumming. For long moments, we stood motionless and stared. The little boy’s eyes were wide and shining, his lips slightly parted and, in his eagerness to absorb this dazzling wonder, he hardly dared breathe.
This is the true and secret allure of bird-watching, almost never mentioned in the more competitive world of “birders” who make lists and boast about numbers. I began birdwatching at the age of 12, when my family moved to an otherwise bleak new suburb with a wooded ravine nearby. Many of the moments when I spied on a warbler, a blue jay, or a white-throated sparrow, in that bush or many others over the years, are still bright in my memory. I remember the thump of my heart when I caught sight of a bird, the hush of excited observation, the stillness in which I tried to memorize every colour and flicker of my elusive target – and the image of the bird itself, busy in its private life. That often silent, intense activity of a tiny wild creature not only embodies the complex world of nature that surrounds us, but also jolts us out of our customary oblivion. Birdwatching means tuning in to the living world with quiet attentiveness.
I was deeply moved to share that first moment with my grandson. Now I’m waiting until he’s six or seven, when I can give him Robert Bateman’s ravishing Backyard Birds: An Introduction. Woven through with heartfelt but lightly invoked environmentalism, it’s a book to inspire, excite, and enlighten young readers.
Bateman, who grew up in Ontario but now lives on Salt Spring Island, B.C., is Canada’s most celebrated wildlife artist, and this book offers a glimpse into the wellspring of his art. In his introduction, Bateman tells how he fell in love with observing bird life one winter day when he was eight, and was hooked by the sight of a lively little chickadee. Tucked into a corner opposite the title page is a leaf from the 14-year-old Bateman’s sketchbook, crowded with accomplished drawings of birds, butterflies, and twigs.
Each double spread of Backyard Birds presents a full-page painting of a bird in its natural habitat (the blue jay sitting on frost-covered pine needles, the swallow perched in a barn window). Overlapping each painting is a facsimile of a lined notebook page with basic information about each species – size, voice, range, and food. On the facing page is a lively description of the bird’s most distinctive habits and characteristics. Hummingbirds can fly upside down (picture that!); the gray jay, known as the “camp robber,” may take food from your hand and save it by gluing it to a tree with sticky saliva.
In every paragraph, Bateman places himself in the shoes of young readers, suggesting how they might spot a red-tailed hawk overhead and know it by its tail shape, or how, if they’re lucky, they might hear an owl hoot from the deep woods or see a barn swallow swoop to a pond to drink on the wing. Adventure is alive in these pages.
This is no conventional bird book. Bateman pairs bird species in each double-page spread, one featured in a full-size painting, and another shown in smaller size at the bottom of the text page. Sometimes Bateman uses the pairing to show how a novice birder might distinguish between two similar sightings, such as the downy and hairy woodpeckers; sometimes he pairs a predator and prey, like the red-winged blackbird and the American crow. These thought-provoking couplings leave the reader with a sense of nature’s infinite possibilities, unlike the more static, cut-and-dried guides that are confined to identification.
Bateman’s naturalism is at its most affectionate and charming in these spirited illustrations. Equally appealing is his conversational ease in the accompanying prose, for which co-author Ian Coutts must share credit. In an unforced and uncondescending tone, Bateman conveys his keen interest and exuberant pleasure in the often surprising details of bird life.
Valuable additions to the book are the occasionally interspersed two-page descriptions of bird family life, migration patterns and senses, and notes on how to attract birds to your backyard. An epilogue talks about the important role birds play in our shared world and offers simple ways for young environmentalists to help them survive.
Throughout, the handsome art work, ample white space, decorative headings, and varied layout sustain interest and visual pleasure. The one startling flaw in this fine work is the absence of either a contents page or an index, although Bateman does offer a simple ornithological glossary at the end.
Unlike many other non-fiction works produced for young readers, this volume resonates with an authenticity of feeling and delight. There’s no pandering to the kiddies with cartoonish blandishments, juvenile jokes, and hyperactive marginalia. Bateman respects both his subject matter and his readers, many of whom will respond with a quickened interest in the natural world.
An enticing gift would be a package of the Bateman volume with one or both of Renee Schwarz’s how-to books, Birdfeeders and Birdhouses (Kids Can Press). Both books carry a range of sprightly and amusing projects for young do-it-yourselfers, with clear, step-by-step directions and drawings and photographs of the finished product. Most of the projects require the use of drills, saws, and other tools requiring adult guidance, and though not all the designs are the last word in practicality, they’re all ingenious enough to tempt handy kids to get involved.
Backyard Sports | |
---|---|
Genre(s) | Sports |
Developer(s) | Humongous Entertainment |
Publisher(s) | |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Android, Game Boy |
First release | Backyard Baseball 1997 |
Latest release | Backyard Sports: Baseball 2015 and Backyard Sports: Basketball 2015 2015 |
Backyard Sports (originally branded as Junior Sports)[1][2] is a series of video games released for consoles and computers. The series is best known for starring kid-sized versions of popular professional sports stars, such as Albert Pujols, Paul Pierce, Barry Bonds, Tim Duncan, Clint Mathis, Kevin Garnett, Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Joe Thornton and Andy Macdonald. The Backyard Sports series is licensed by the leading professional U.S. sports leagues: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Soccer (MLS).
The series includes Backyard Baseball, Backyard Basketball, Backyard Football (American football), Backyard Soccer, Backyard Hockey (Ice hockey), and Backyard Skateboarding. In the games, players form a team consisting of Backyard Kids and pro players, which they take through a 'Backyard League' season, attempting to become the champions. Players can create their own athletes, starting in Backyard Football (1999). Another aspect of the games is the use of Power-Ups, allowing players to gain 'super-abilities'. For instance, 'Super Dunk' allows a basketball player to make an incredible dunk from nearly anywhere on the court, 'Leap Frog' allows a football player to jump over the entire defensive line, and 'Ice Cream Truck' causes the other team to be completely distracted for a brief period of time.
Some of these games are playable with the ScummVM emulator.[3]
History[edit]
![Backyard Sports Intro Backyard Sports Intro](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125633514/555989414.jpg)
CrossFit Jai. GET STARTED DROP IN. Move Over, Happy Hour. Backyard sports, or the zombie apocalypse, we can help. Get a FREE No-Sweat Intro. Backyard Sports Player Profile 14 of 30: Dante Robinson Every day in August, r/BackyardBaseball will be providing in-depth player profiles for the 30 original backyard kids. We will be highlighting each player’s strengths, weaknesses, and equivalent pros for baseball, football, and basketball, according to Backyard Baseball 2001/2003. Jun 18, 2018 Future iterations of Backyard Sports games allow you to pick athletes to play with the kids. His theme music is perhaps the most epic in the game, which only adds to. Ascended Fanboy: She says in the original Backyard Baseball that she wants to be in the hall of fame next to Cal Ripken Jr. In Baseball 2001, Ripken is one of the playable pros, so you can make this happen yourself. Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Until the reboot starting with Backyard Sports Baseball 2015. Commuting on a Bus: In Baseball 2007.
Sports bedrooms - sports bedding - boys all sports bedroom decorating ideas - decorating girls sports bedrooms - boys sports theme beds - teenage sport theme bedrooms - sport themed bedrooms - soccer theme - football mural stick ups sports theme bedrooms Basket by Zenima is the coolest way to express his love for the game.
The series began in late 1997, when Humongous Entertainment created their first game, Backyard Baseball. Humongous Entertainment was owned by GT Interactive. Later Infogrames bought the company, and along with it came all of the game titles. Infogrames allowed Humongous Entertainment to expand the series, and they developed more titles such as Backyard Soccer, Backyard Hockey, Backyard Skateboarding, Backyard Basketball and Backyard Football.[4] Following the buyout by Infogrames these titles from the Backyard series have seen releases for game consoles, including the Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Wii.
On July 24, 2013, Epic Gear bought the Backyard Sports franchise from the Atari bankruptcy proceedings.[5]
Backyard Football Download
On December 11, 2014, Day 6 Sports Group announced the relaunch of the Backyard Sports series with Backyard Sports NBA Basketball for smartphones and tablets, with Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry as the cover athlete.
On April 19, 2019, Humongous Entertainment tweeted an image of the original Junior Sports logo, hinting at a possible re-release of the original games and/or the developer having re-secured the rights to the series proper.[6][1][2]
Film[edit]
In 2016, it was reported that Cross Creek Pictures and Crystal City Entertainment were developing a film based on Backyard Sports with Brian Oliver and Ari Daniel Pinchot producing.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ abSchmidt, Eugene (April 24, 2019). 'Humongous Entertainment coming to consoles'. Barrelrolled. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ abFrech, Ricky (April 24, 2019). 'Humongous Entertainment is Bringing Their Collection of 90s Classics to Consoles'. DualShockers. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^http://gamesdbase.com/list.aspx?in=1&searchtext=backyard&searchtype=1
- ^'Backyard Sports - Backyard Basketball and Backyard Football'. Barcodespider.com.
- ^http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130724006402/en/Evergreen-Group-Agreed-Acquire-Backyard-Sports-Video/
- ^Humongous [@HumongousEnt] (April 19, 2019). '[Image-only tweet; image shows a red exclamation point on a transparent background overlaid with the words 'It's Junior Sports' in blue.]' (Tweet). Retrieved May 17, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^Fleming Jr, Mike (March 30, 2016). ''Backyard Sports' Video Game In Movie Deal With Cross Creek & Crystal City'. Deadline.
External links[edit]
- Official website (2007 archive on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine)
- Backyard Sports series at MobyGames
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