Return to Hawk's Hill (Incident at Hawk's Hill, Book 2) [Paperback]

Allan W. Eckert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

Running away from a vicious trapper, seven-year-old Ben MacDonald is separated from his family and eventually ends up on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, where he is taken in by a tribe of Metis Indians. This is the sequel to "Incident at Hawk's Hill, " a Newbery Honor book published in 1971.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7ASet in northern Canada in the 1870s, this sequel to Incident at Hawk's Hill (Little, Brown, 1995) tells the story of seven-year-old Ben, who's known for his uncanny way with wild animals. When he sees a local trapper threaten his older brother and sister, he takes refuge in his father's old rowboat, but soon discovers a new dangerAhe's adrift on the river with no way of returning home. He is eventually rescued by a Metis youth. At the same time, his parents have embarked on a desperate search for Ben, and their stories alternate with his until they all meet at the Metis camp. The previous story is neatly summed up in a prologue that also sets the scene for this one, which takes place a year later. The author has obviously put a lot of effort into research, and his love of natural history is equally evident. Metis life is meticulously detailed and the natural setting is almost palpable. However, the sense of time and place is better developed than the characters, who tend to be one-dimensional. The villain is something of a stock character, and many others, especially the Metis chief, give long, preachy speeches that make this novel more like a morality lesson than a story. The occasional moments of gripping adventure are overwhelmed by the stiff dialogue and characters. Fans of the first book will enjoy this one because it does resolve some leftover plot points, but it may be difficult to expand the readership to those unfamiliar with that work.AArwen Marshall, New York Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

In this tardy sequel to 1971's Incident at Hawk's Hill, seven-year-old Ben MacDonald is again lost, this time on huge Lake Winnipeg, then rescued by Metis Indians, into whose uniformly noble hearts he strikes awe with his amazing ability to communicate with animals. After recapping the events leading to the death of the beloved female badger, Eckert starts the new story with its burial, then advances nine months where a chance encounter with brutal trader George Burton sends Ben scrambling for cover. Only too late does he discover that the boat he borrows is oarless; helplessly, he drifts down the Red River into open water. Fortunately, a young hunter spots him, and soon Ben is lodged with the Metis, settlers of mixed Cree and French descent, studying long lists of multisyllabic Cree words. Meanwhile, Ben's family searches for him frantically. Eckert is not one for complex characterization, either personal or cultural; Burton is dirty, violent, and cowardly, while Ben is so saintly that he is adopted into a family as Ka Kakekinit, the ``Chosen One.'' The point of view switches often, allowing for only rare glimpses of the lyrical descriptions of the natural world for which Eckert is known. In the end, the MacDonalds are reunited, Burton is decisively run off, and Ben's father apologizes for his previously expressed prejudice against ``half-breeds.'' This bland and simplistic wilderness adventure responds towithout satisfyingreaders who wanted to know ``What happened next?'' (map) (Fiction. 10-12) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown & Co. (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316006890
• ISBN-13: 978-0316006897
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Allan W. Eckert, seven-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, has written 39 books, including his award-winning Incident at Hawk's Hill and The Frontiersman, plus numerous other historical narratives, novels and non-fiction works, as well as books for young adults and children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review for Return to Hawk's Hill, October 19, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Return to Hawk's Hill (Incident at Hawk's Hill, Book 2) (Paperback)

Return to Hawk's Hill by Alan W. Eckert is one of my favorite books. I think this book can be read or listened to by all ages. The book tells the story through the eyes of the family, Ben and the villagers. While reading the book, you will find yourself comparing what they did in a certain situation with what you would have done. The main theme is the conflict of what people think of others when they act, talk and do things you find are strange.
The story begins with Ben's brother and sisters going home and thinking of what had happened before (read Incident at Hawk 's Hill to understand) when George Burton shows up. Ben feeling like an animal caught runs..., finds a boat..., is found by an Indian boy and brought back to the Indian boy's village, fills fear, lonely and then love. Return to Hawk's Hill is a book you can't stop reading until it's done.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable and satisfactory, October 15, 2011

By 

Wayne S. Walker "Home School Book Review" (Salem, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Return to Hawk's Hill (Incident at Hawk's Hill, Book 2) (Paperback)

This is a sequel to Eckert's Newbery Honor winning Incident at Hawk's Hill in which six-year-old Ben MacDonald spends a couple of months lost on the Canadian prairie and is befriended by a female badger which is adopted as a pet by the MacDonald but is shot by their neighbor, the vicious trapper George Burton who is forced to leave the community. Following the death of the badger, about a year later Burton returns and apparently intends to seek revenge against the MacDonalds. While riding home from school with his brother and two sisters, Ben, now seven, gets off the wagon to walk the rest of the way. Later, he sees Burton chasing the wagon, so to escape he runs to the river, gets in his father's rowboat, and pushes out. Soon he discovers that the oars have been removed, and caught by the current he floats downstream through dangerous rapids to Lake Winnipeg.
There Ben is rescued by a Metis boy named Little Buffalo and taken to safety in one of the Metis villages along the shores of the lake. Their leader, Louis Riel, sends a couple of his warriors to Hawk's Hill to let the MacDonalds know that Ben is safe and will be returned. Meanwhile, Will and John MacDonald set out to try and find Ben. They locate the rowboat in some debris along the lakeshore, but are unsure whether he may have drowned or not. When they do not return on time, Esther MacDonald, convinced that Ben must be alive and with the Metis, takes the girls to stay with a neighbor and sets off for the Indian villages. Along the way, she is captured by George Burton who plans to sell her to the Metis as a slave. Will and John finally return home and seeing Esther's note, go off after her. Therefore, when the Indian warriors arrive at Hawk's Hill, they find no one to whom they can deliver Riel's message. Do Will and John catch up with Burton and Esther in time? How will the Metis react to Burton's offer of a slave? And what will happen to Ben?
We enjoyed Incident at Hawk's Hill. While Return to Hawk's Hill doesn't have quite the same animal-lover appeal, it has more excitement of action and thus would probably be easier for young people, especially reluctant readers, to manage on their own. We did both as family read alouds and enjoyed the sequel as well. Some have objected to the somewhat long-winded "preachiness" of Louis Riel in explaining how badly the Native Americans were treated by the settlers and the Canadian government. While I find books that overemphasize these kinds of things to be annoying, it is true that Indians in both the United States and in Canada did not always receive a fair shake. It is also true that there have been some who sought to do right towards the Indians, and this book does a good job in maintaining balance on the subject. There are some references to tobacco use. The "d" word is used a couple of times by Burton, and the name of God is found a few times as an interjection, but I found Esther MacDonald's suggestion at the end, "I think we should take a moment to thank God, silently, each of us in his own way," to be satisfactory.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return to Hawk's Hill, March 3, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Return to Hawk's Hill (Incident at Hawk's Hill, Book 2) (Paperback)

I chose to read this book.... I was looking for a novel that seemed interesting. I also wanted to read a book with a different genre from most of the other books I've read...
The main character in this story is a young boy named Ben Mac Donald. Ben Mac Donald has two older sisters,... . and one older brother. Ben is the youngest of the four and also the quietest. He seems to be on the reserved side and it seems like he enjoys being home alone, and keeping to himself. Ben is also fascinated with nature, and loves to go and frolic with the wildlife on the prairie. At one point in the story, Ben even stays with a mother badger in her den...
I really enjoyed this book and I found it very interesting. I love the adventures that he goes on. Sometimes the adventures he goes on are to save the lives of others, other times it's to get away with his own. I give this book a score of 4+/5-; because the book just pulled me in I couldn't put it down. I really enjoy adventures both in books and in real life, and this book had plenty of adventures to keep me reading. I hope to read the next volume of this book series titled Incident at Hawk's Hill and experience more heart racing adventures that Ben Mac Donald goes on. Hopefully, none too dangerous though.