Let your imagination soar free by reading a book! Reading is a great way to open our minds and explore new worlds and ideas. And even though we’ve moved to a world where reading material is easily accessed online, nothing beats the feel and smell of a good, old-fashioned book in our hands.
Of course, we need something to help keep those books in order on a shelf or nightstand. A great set of bookends will do the trick! There have been many ornate bookends designed over the years that are both functional and beautiful.
When it comes to animals, birds are a favorite in bookend design. The ability of our feathered friends to fly off and see the world from a different angle is a great representation of what reading can do for us. Books free us from our cages and give us a new perspective on life.
Owls in particular make great figures for bookends. They are widely associated with intelligence and wisdom, qualities common in readers. But others birds also can be wonderful models for these useful accessories.
We searched far and wide and found some awesome bookends shaped like birds – we hope you like our picks!
Fasmov Owls Nonskid Bookends
This set of bookmarks presents a fanciful and fun pair of owls! The design is simple but attractive.
A pair of owls adorns each end. They’re reminiscent of cartoon owls – they even call to mind the famous owl who inquired about the number of licks needed to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.
These are available in black or red. They measure 7.9 inches wide by 4.3 inches deep and 4.7 inches high. That’s a bit short, but are sturdy enough to support most books.
Made of steel, they have pads on the bottom to keep them from slipping and to protect your furniture. They weigh 1.3 pounds, a decent weight that will help them hold your collection in place.
These are the type of book ends that slide under the books, which uses the books’ weight to help support them. Still, they could be turned to face forward and look good in a purely decorative way, too.
Bellaa Wide Eyed Owl Bookend
Bellaa offers this set of bookends that has a more classical look. The two owls seems to be standing on wooden planks. They look out alertly on the room.
The owls themselves look a bit like pewter, although they’re actually made of polyresin.
These measures 8 inches tall. Combined, they weigh 3.1 pounds. That’s relatively light, but they do a decent job holding up books. They also look great if used just as decorative pieces.
SPI Home Wide Eyed Owl Bookends
These little owls are perched on logs. Actually, one is definitely an owl, but it’s harder to be sure what the second else. It looks like it may be from Angry Birds. But no matter what they are, they still look great!
Each end is 7 inches tall, 4.5 wide and 4 inches deep. They weigh a combined hefty 9.4 pounds, which will go a long way to helping keep your books from falling over!
These are made of resin. The colors are often not as brilliant as the picture, where they almost look like bronze. They often seem to come with a darker tone without the shiny highlights.
They do a great job holding up books, and despite the occasional problems with the color, are a good-looking set of bookends.
Skip Hop Owl Bookends
This pair of bookends is a lot more fanciful than the others we’ve looked at so far. Their material and bright colors make them very suitable for a nursery or child’s room.
These cartoon-like owls are made of a faux leather. They’re about 5.5 inches high, 6 wide and 7 deep. The total weight is 2.7 pounds – it’s not that much, but it’ll work well for a handful of children’s books.
They’re amazingly cute as decorations or in their role supporting reading material.
These are part of a set of Zoo Bookends by Skip Hop. Be sure to check out their Amazon store.
MyGift Decorative Birds & Books
Of course, owls don’t monopolize the market on bird bookends. This pair of birds – they seem to be sparrows – each perch on a pair of books. The colors give them an almost classic, aged look.
They’re made of resin and measure 5 inches wide by 4.25 inches deep (each). They’re about 5.75 inches high.
They do weigh just 2 pounds total. That’s not much for bookends. The large base does help provide support for books, but we wouldn’t recommend them for much more than decorative use. If the books mostly support themselves, these would look great on either side. But they also make good paperweights or end table decorations.
Streamline Raven Bookends
You may say “Nevermore” when you think about adding new decor to your home, but you won’t be able to resist these raven bookends!
There’s a lot of details in these right down to the feathers. The head and feather detail look very realistic, although they seem to be crouched down – a posture we haven’t seen in birds. But it’s easy to overlook that because of the great Gothic feeling they convey.
They are each 4.75 inches by 3.75 inches, and 5.5 inches high. They weigh about 2.7 pounds combined. They do have a good base surface area but are relatively light. They’re more decorative than practical, but can support a couple small books.
They’re great for Halloween, too! You can find more Halloween birds here.
Wrapping It Up
Books are wonderful for giving us a bird’s-eye view of the world. They let us explore new possibilities we never before imagined. the freedom of birds is a great metaphor for this openness to new things. Bird-shaped bookends are a wonderful way to decorate and will help keep your great literature collection in order!
