Hawk Hill [Hardcover]

Suzie Gilbert (Author), Sylvia Long (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up

When Pete moves to a new town, he can't seem to make any friends. But one day, Pete takes a new road home from school, and what he discovers changes him forever. Suzie Gilbert's lyrical text is paired perfectly with magnificent watercolor paintings by best-selling artist and avid bird watcher, Sylvia Long. The spectacular images, carefully researched, capture the world from both a human and bird's-eye view, while a detailed glossary of birds and information about raptor rehabilitation underscore the importance of keeping the natural world wild. Hawk Hill is a poignant reminder that hope and friendship are often found in unexpected places.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Diffident and lonely after moving to a new town, Pete finds solace on a hilltop where he can gaze up at hawks reeling in the sky. When he happens upon a nearby farmstead, he is met by a gruff, uncommunicative woman who rescues injured raptors. She carries a wounded red-tailed hawk. Captivated by the feathered victim, Pete returns day after day to the rehabilitator's barn without her welcome. Initially, the taciturn woman has no use for the boy. But in the silence between them, a mutual fascination begins to speak. Debut author Gilbert's text?as loquacious as its characters are laconic?draws readers easily and gently into Pete's world. In the warm light and realistic characterizations of Long's (Alejandro's Gift) watercolors, humans and wild creatures share a believable albeit brief kinship. Ultimately, the tale is of a lasting human friendship: the woman teaches the boy the dignity of his reticence; he inspires in her the courage to call wild animals her own before letting them go. An illustrated raptor glossary is appended. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-A wealth of information on raptors can easily be absorbed from this readable story of a shy boy who becomes a helper at a wildlife rehabilitation center. At first frightened and yet fascinated, Pete learns from the quiet, competent woman who treats the injured birds that they must be tended, strengthened over many weeks or months, and then returned to the wild. He grows in knowledge and confidence as he develops a friendship with the older woman. A picture dictionary of 14 common North American raptors is appended to the book, but it is the clear, pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations that capture the beauty and fierce power of these birds. Small individual portraits face full-page, bordered paintings that picture the activities of the rehabilitation center. Double-page pictures at intervals show the birds in flight high in cloudless skies and looking down on vast tracts of earth. This is a fine introduction to the world of raptors and to the patient work of the nature lovers who care for the wounded and helpless birds. It satisfies both as a narrative and as a well-researched source of information that can be used with science projects or read aloud to a class.
Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811808394
• ISBN-13: 978-0811808392
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,268,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars serendipidous find: a must for all young birders, October 24, 2007

By 

B. Gordon (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hawk Hill (Hardcover)

My original introduction to this book came from my five year old grandson Aaron who brought it home from the public library for me to read to him. I believe he was attracted to the picture of the hawk on the cover. It is a bird he easily recognized from his observations around his home. He lived with his family in an open area close to the San Pedro River Riperian Area, and the family has always been involved with the out-of-doors and the flora and fauna around them. The story involves a small boy who has recently moved to a new home and is feeling a bit lost and lonely. He spends days alone observing hawks flying above him as he lies on his back on hawk hill. He eventually observes and then meets a woman who takes in and mends injured birds. She teaches the boy to care for these birds and then offers him a strong lesson about letting wild things return to the wild after being healed. Aaron found a kinship with the boy in the book because he and his family were about to relocate to a new home. That coupled with his interest in birds and wildlife made this book particularly meaningful for him. Two pages of illustrated raptor identification at the back of the book are well suited for a young mind's understanding, and he insisted that I read all of it while he examined the pictures closely. The illustrations are well executed and can serve to identify birds in the wild.

I bought this book because Aaron is now beginning to read for himself, and I believe he will return to it often. I highly recommend this for children who are interested in bird watching (I believe a second grader can read this by him or herself) as well as for parents who hope to interest their children in learning about the wild birds around them.