This elegantly simple and informative story chronicles a year in the life of a family of trumpeter swans. From the moment baby trumpeter Ko-hoh and his siblings are born, their parents protect them. Throughout spring, summer and early fall the young swans learn how to feed and fly, in preparation for winter migration. But one icy dawn, a hungry grizzly attacks the sleeping Ko-hoh, who is in serious danger until his parents rescue him with their powerful wings. As ice forms on the lake, the family heads south. The straightforward text explains the trumpeter swan’s annual cycle in the friendly context of Ko-hoh’s family, while Rodanas’s splendid double-page, colored-pencil–over–watercolor-wash illustrations provide a visual backdrop. Tracking Ko-hoh from hatching to full-flight migration, the illustrations allow readers to view the swans from a variety of perspectives, including inside the nest, lake level, subaquatic and aerial, while backgrounds reflect the changing seasons. A successful introduction. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 4-8)
