HONKER: The Story of a Wild Goose

Mr. McClung's excellent titles on the life cycles of various birds and animals are notable for their accuracy and his ability to personalize the bird or animal without resorting to anthropomorphizing. Honker is a leading gander in a flock of Canada geese. With his mate Branta, Honker raises his families and leads his fellows through the danger-filled long distance migrations down the Mississippi flyways. One flight south found the geese in a National Wildlife Refuge. The protective program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is fully outlined, especially in relation to hunting and bird health checks. The illustrations in black and white by Bob Hines are decoratively well drawn as well as good visualizations of the information in the smoothly written text.