HAWK RISING, by Maria Gianferrari

 

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Roaring Brook Press

 

A ruffle of feathers, a shadow gliding through the backyard. High above your house, Father Hawk circles, sharp eyes searching for prey. Swoosh! He dives after chipmunks, crows, sparrows, squirrels. The sun hangs low in the sky as three hungry chicks wait. Will they eat today?

 

 

A Junior Library Guild selection

A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year selection

A Parents' Choice Foundation Silver Award winner

An SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner

Red Clover Award 2019—2020 Nominee

CCBC Choices 2019 Choice: Science, Technology, and the Natural World

Nonfiction Detectives Best Nonfiction 2018

 

 

★ Publishers Weekly (starred review):

 

"The spare, poetic prose of Gianferrari (Hello Goodbye Dog) joins the realistic watercolors of Floca (Princess Cora and the Crocodile) to present a day in the life of a red-tailed hawk.... Muted hues illustrate moments from Father Hawk’s day as he scans for prey, sunbathes, dives after a chipmunk and sparrows, and finally snags a squirrel to bring back to the nest. All this plays out under the scrutinizing eyes of two young bird-watchers: a girl and her younger sister in a suburban neighborhood, who use binoculars to follow the progress of the feathered hunter.... Painted from varying angles, dynamic spreads and vignettes present the shifting perspectives of bird-watcher, hawk, and prey. The clever pacing and placement of text match the bird’s actions across, up, and down the page. This captivating introduction to the red-tailed hawk concludes with more than a half-dozen facts about the common bird of prey and further reading." Full review here.

 

★ School Library Journal (starred review):

 

"A young unnamed girl observes a father hawk searching for prey to feed his young offspring.... The child continues to watch as the bird embarks on a number of unsuccessful endeavors.... As the day sinks toward darkness, the father hawk perches once again to wait and watch—finally, he catches a squirrel. Bird and human rest as the night closes in. The lyrical text captures the excitement of observing red-tailed hawks’ hunting efforts in a residential setting. Floca’s stunningly accurate watercolor illustrations beautifully complement Gianferrari’s text. An incredible companion to the author’s Coyote Moon, this latest powerfully demonstrates the wonder that can be found in observing the natural world. Additional information about red-tailed hawks makes the book a valuable educational tool, as well. ­VERDICT A first purchase for most libraries." –Heidi Grange, Summit Elementary School, Smithfield, UT. Full review here.

 

Kirkus Reviews:

 

“A male red-tailed hawk leaves a nest full of hatchlings to scout a suburban neighborhood for prey….[T]he terse narrative vividly captures both the weary vigil’s length and its abrupt moments of mortal drama…. Alternating the perspective from ground level to high overhead, Floca depicts the majestic raptor with painterly magnificence, giving its variegated plumage a soft, even shaggy look that renders the climactic flashes of its massive black talons positively electrifying. The hunt finally comes to a decisive but gore-free culmination with the hawk “grabbing” a squirrel and winging off to the nearby nest. The author closes with two pages of additional facts and leads to further information. An absorbing reminder that we need never look far to see wild, beautiful nature." Full review here.

 

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books:

 

"In this companion to Coyote Moon (BCCB 9/16), Gianferrari again observes an urban hunter as it finds prey to feed its young. A pair of sisters brings binoculars into their backyard to watch a male red-tailed hawk as it scans the landscape from telephone poles and trees, then swoops down to grab at prey (first a chipmunk, then a sparrow) that narrowly escapes with its life. Hours pass before the hawk finally kills a squirrel that can neither outrun the raptor nor hide in open ground. The younger of the two birdwatchers is obviously saddened to see the hawk fly into the sunset, squirrel dangling from its talons, but the closing spreads focus on the hawk family and its hard-earned dinner.... Gianferrari's poetic text layers lyrical beauty onto a harsh story of survival, and Floca's luminous scenes convey both honest objectivity—the terrified squirrel racing under the hawk's shadow and then gripped in its claws—and genuine sensitivity in the parent hawks' care for their chicks. Additional facts about red-tailed hawks, as well as print and online resources for further information, are appended." —Elizabeth Bush.

 

The New York Times Book Review:

 

"Children’s stories about predators generally either choose to make the predator a villain, or to somehow obscure the predator’s way of life. Hawk Rising does something more honest and more interesting — it simply watches. We see the father hawk failing to get a chipmunk, then harried by crows, then failing to catch sparrows. We see the claws of the hawk up close from the prey’s perspective, and we also see the hawk’s hungry chicks. Finally the hawk, spotting a squirrel — a squirrel lovingly detailed in a full-spread Audubon-like drawing — succeeds in catching its prey. The expression Floca puts on the watching younger sister’s face is wonderfully ambivalent as we see her watching the father hawk fly off, the squirrel in his talons silhouetted against “the navy-blue sky.” The story’s final move draws attention to the uneasy unity between the humans and the hawks. “Through the night, safe in your nests, you and the Hawk family sleep.” —Rivka Galchen. Full review here.

 

The Horn Book Magazine:

 

"A red-tailed hawk hunts as his chicks wait in a nearby cedar tree and two human children observe from their house and backyard. Floca's illustrations in a classic ink and watercolor style accompany Gianferrari's sensory, poetic text, setting the suburban scene and offering a dynamic, naturalistic depiction of the fierce predator and its behavior. As Father Hawk glides up, down, and around and has several failed hunting attempts throughout the day, perspectives and colors shift, presenting breathtaking bird's- and child's-eye views of sunrises and sunsets, scuttling prey, the children's neighborhood, and more. The second-person text, rhythmic, alliterative and suspenseful, compares the humans to hawks ("High in a backyard cedar they sit. / High from the window you watch"). Hand-lettered sound effects ("Keee-EEER, Keee-EEER") contrast with the spiky, serious typeface and further link the visual and textual story lines. A squirrel's demise places the narrative firmly in the real world; and facts about hawks, provided alongside a bibliography and additional resources in the back matter, invite readers to watch for birds of prey in their own neighborhoods: "Whether you live in the country, the city, or the suburbs, you too can spot a red-tailed hawk!" Visually stunning and informative."" —Elisa Gall

 

Booklist:

 

"As the sun rises, Father Hawk stretches his wings. At the same time, two children wake, stretching their arms and watching as the family of red-tailed hawks go about their day. As Mother Hawk stays with the chicks, Father Hawk perches on a pole and searches for prey. Over the course of the day, he makes several failed attempts at catching prey, and the children watch as he is mobbed by crows. Eventually, as the day ends, he succeeds, carrying a squirrel back to his hungry young. Back matter provides more information on the lifestyle and habitats of the ubiquitous red-tailed hawk, and the second-person narration adds a human element as the binocular-gripping siblings follow the hawk throughout his day. The detailed illustrations provide both at-a-distance and close-up looks, while some, such as the one where the hawk finally makes his kill, are not for the faint of heart. A matter-of-fact examination of a day in the life of a creature that many readers may find familiar."