Offer this heartwarming example of animal rehabilitation to fans of Winter’s Tail, by Juliana, Isabella, and Craig Hatkoff...
An Alaskan eagle’s broken beak is restored with modern technology.
In a straightforward, relatively simple text extensively illustrated with photographs, writer Rose and raptor biologist Veltkamp imagine the eagle’s early life and then chronicle her experience in human hands. After her beak was partially shot off and she couldn’t eat or drink properly, the fully grown eagle could no longer survive in the wild. In her first rescue center, her wounds were treated and she was given a name, Beauty. Transferred to biologist Veltkamp’s raptor center in Idaho, she came to the attention of an engineer who designed and printed a 3-D prosthetic to replace the missing part of her upper beak. After a dentist installed it, she could drink on her own and use her beak to preen her feathers as eagles do. Solid information about bald eagles in the wild is woven into the story, and lengthy backmatter describes eagle physical characteristics and protection efforts. Beauty’s beak is now regenerating and she no longer uses that prosthetic, but, an author’s note tells readers, other animals and humans do use similar replacement parts. Resources include web connections and QR codes to be used with a Cornell Lab of Ornithology app.
Offer this heartwarming example of animal rehabilitation to fans of Winter’s Tail, by Juliana, Isabella, and Craig Hatkoff (2009), and similar stories. (Nonfiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943978-28-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Persnickety Press
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Illuminating, of course—and also a good deal of fun.
“Met-a-more-for-WHAT?” A stern instructor delivers life-cycle information to a class of wide-eyed firefly larvae.
Eventually even pulling a pair of class cutups to attention, the teacher—an adult rather oddly got up in a military uniform in Salcedo’s cartoon illustrations—lays down the (natural) law from “You have four different life cycle stages from when you’re an egg until you’re an adult!” to “As an adult firefly, you have just one job.” Supplementing the lecture with definitions and specific details in frequent side notes (“Finding a Mate 101”), the author covers diet, body parts, bioluminescence, molting, avoiding predators (notably cannibalistic fireflies of the Photuris genus and “giants” wielding jars with screw-top lids), and other topics. Following the teacher’s annoyed “What do you mean you have questions? I only have about 30 seconds left to live,” Foote appends follow-up pages of photos and further facts. She has her finger on the pulse of her audience, informing them of the firefly larva’s appealingly icky dining habits (liquefying its prey with poison) and realistically depicting a moment of near-total distraction when the young students delightedly repeat “bum” before being corrected by their teacher (“Grow up, larvae! It’s your flashing ABDOMEN”).
Illuminating, of course—and also a good deal of fun. (glossary, websites) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943147-32-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: The Innovation Press
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
An affectionate picture of bears and bear scientists, capped with a page of moon bear facts and an afterword.
Not one but three roly-poly moon bear cubs star in this true animal rescue tale.
Orphaned by poachers, Yasha, joined later by Shum and Shiksha, are nurtured by Pokrovskaya and another scientist for nearly two years on a game preserve until they were ready to be released into the Siberian wild. Taking a slightly anthropomorphized bear’s-eye point of view (“Yasha was happy with his new home”), Kvatum chronicles the cubs’ development as they learn to forage on their own while playing together and learning to climb trees. She also notes how important it is for human observers to remain aloof—minimizing physical contact and even wearing scent-concealing clothing—to prevent the animals from becoming dependent or domesticated. Looking positively fetching in the big, color photos, shaggy Yasha and his ursine cohorts grow visibly as they ramble through woodsy settings, splash in a river and survive an encounter with a prowling tiger before being deemed ready to live on their own.
An affectionate picture of bears and bear scientists, capped with a page of moon bear facts and an afterword. (map, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: July 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1051-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2012
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