Falcons Nest on Skyscrapers (Let's Read-And-Find-Out Science) [Hardcover]

Priscilla Belz Jenkins (Author), Megan Lloyd (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996 | Age Level: 5 and up | Series: Let's Read-And-Find-Out Science

In an engaging look at both the beauty and fragility of falcons and their habitat, young readers learn about Scarlett, a falcon who lived on a Baltimore skyscraper, and her fight for life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4?A straightforward account of the first brood of peregrine falcon chicks to hatch in the wild in the eastern U.S. in 30 years?on a ledge of a Baltimore skyscraper. General facts about falcon behavior and habitat; explanations of how the peregrine population was affected by DDT; and scientists' efforts to save the species provide the background for the story of one bird. Scarlett had been raised at a special research facility, banded, and released into the wild. She landed on a skyscraper, waited five years for a mate, and raised her brood of four. Lloyd's excellent watercolor illustrations capture the variety of falcon positions from nesting to flight, and the artist's perspective of the cityscape as viewed from Scarlett's eyrie 33 stories above enhance the text. Additional information about five species of falcons and a list of places to observe them round out the presentation. A good introduction to birds of prey and how wildlife is dependent on the environment.?Diane Nunn, Richard E. Byrd Elementary School, Glen Rock, NJ
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Ages 5^-8. The story of the peregrine falcon's survival is told in this picture book from the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series. Beginning with general information about the falcon's habits and its near extinction due to DDT, Jenkins describes scientists' efforts to preserve the species and reintroduce it into the wild. A high ledge on a Baltimore skyscraper provided shelter for Scarlett, the first of the peregrines raised in captivity to adapt to "the wild" and hatch her eggs, reestablishing the species in the eastern U.S. This appealing look at Scarlett, her trials, and her perseverance makes an involving tale that personalizes wildlife conservation without triviality or sensationalism. The last pages introduce five American falcons and a half-dozen places to contact for information about local falcon watches. Throughout the book, ink drawings with subtle watercolor washes offer panoramic views of countrysides and cityscapes as well as close-ups of Scarlett, her mate, and their brood. Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060211040
• ISBN-13: 978-0060211042
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,606,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still talking about it a week later, April 21, 2009

By 

Heather Martin (The Republic of Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falcons Nest on Skyscrapers (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) (Paperback)

I must first start by saying I love the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series. And I love that I can legally put all those hyphens in a sentence. I feel like I'm breaking some grammar law, but I'm not!

Back to the book. This is a great little book about peregrine falcons and how they became endangered and then saved. It is also the story of one falcon living on a skyscraper in Baltimore named Scarlett. I thought the book did a good job giving general information about all of the above. It would not be my pick for learning everything about falcons, but it did a great job with an overview and a personal story.

The thing which makes this one so fantastic though is that my boys spent over 20 minutes telling their Scout friends about it. They were so excited and talked non-stop about it until they'd told them everything in the book. "Falcons can dive at 200 miles per hour." "The chemical DDT made the eggs fragile so they cracked when the mom sat on them." "Scarlett couldn't find a mate for years and then she did and had babies but then she died. It's okay though because he remarried and had more kids." And on and on and on.

I loved seeing how excited they were about the book. I will continue to check out every book in this series that I can. I appreciate too how it works for my 8-yr-olds, but my 5 and 2-yr-olds can understand it as well, or at least gaze upon the lovely illustrations.

*taken from my review at goodreads