When Agnes Caws [Hardcover]

Candace Fleming (Author), Giselle Potter (Illustrator)

Book Description

The creators of the ALA Notable book "Gabriella's Song" team up again in this delightfully silly adventure about eight-year-old Agnes Peregrine, the best bird-caller in history. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Agnes Peregrine, daughter of the well-known ornithologist, Professor Octavia Peregrine, was a real birdbrain. / At the age of three, Agnes could do the courtship dance of the blue-footed booby. / At the age of five, she could imitate the flight of the yellow-bellied sapsucker." And that was even before her true talent was revealed--birdcalling! As the media flocks around the child wonder, the World Bird Society votes to send 8-year-old Agnes and her mother to the far-off slopes of the Himalayan Mountains to try to lure (and therefore officially spot) the elusive pink-headed duck.

Little does the Peregrine team know that the crafty, conscience-challenged hunter Colonel Pittsnap would be waiting for Agnes in the mountains... waiting for her to lure the rare pink-headed duck into his conniving clutches! (Which, due to her peeping prowess, she accomplishes successfully.) As soon as the duck appears, Pittsnap catches it in his net and darts away. Needless to say, Agnes thinks this turn of events is for the birds. She charges after him, and, in a mighty confrontation on a distant slope, Agnes does what she does best--she calls hundreds of birds from all over the world to buzz, bombard, nip, poke, peck, and scold the colonel in a Hitchcock-like scene gracefully described as "feathered air."

Created by Candace Fleming and illustrator Giselle Potter (the same team behind the lovely, award-winning Gabriella's Song), When Agnes Caws shares its predecessor's timeless, magical quality as well as extraordinary artwork. Young readers will love the story of a can-do talented 8-year-old, as well as the endpapers that show a variety of bird species from the blue-footed booby to the now extinct pink-headed duck. ("The last official sighting was in 1936, but in the 1960s a group of bird-watchers claimed to have spotted one in Tibet.") Great bird sounds ("Cawaak! Caweek! Eek! Eek! Eek!"), high drama, and engaging, action-packed illustrations make this original picture book an excellent choice for story hour. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

WHEN AGNES CAWS Candace Fleming, illus. by Giselle Potter. S&S/Aladdin, $6.99 ISBN 0-689-85118-9. In a starred review of a quirky tale of a Victorian heroine with a talent for bird calling, PW said, "Young birdwatchers will cheer on this spunky heroine who outsmarts the evildoer, from the fact-filled endpapers to the feathery finale." Ages 4-8. (June)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books; 1st edition (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689814712
• ISBN-13: 978-0689814716
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,027,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My 5 year old and I were delighted by this book. Fun plot!, September 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: When Agnes Caws (Hardcover)

My daughter chose this book for the beautiful pictures, but we found a fun and enriching story. The mother/daughter teamwork is a rewarding part of the story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book sings...this book calls...., September 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: When Agnes Caws (Hardcover)

My daughter and I read this book nearly every night. It's a wonderful story about a mom and her daughter, bird lovers both, a story about exploration, courage, and doing what's right because it's the right thing to do. The illustrations are captivating. And dust off your vocal cords, because you'll be singing like a bird before you turn the last page.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating story of a young girl naturalist and hero, May 29, 2005

By 

Customer "kagiso" (Berlin, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Agnes Caws (Hardcover)

My two-year old selected this at the library last week and I was put off a bit initially by the fact that it looked too sophisticated for her, but she LOVES this book and asks to be read it several times each day. It is a story that can be appreciated at many levels and ages--the creative illustrations are full of detail and character; there are lots of interesting facts about birds provided, the plot is fairly simple, yet much of the language and humor is highly sophisticated. What I appreciate too is that this is a positive story about a mother and daughter team studying and protecting the natural world. I would also note that there are some minor inaccuracies regarding ecology and bird behavior (e.g., wrong vegetation is shown associated with African savannah)--but only a purist would quibble with that.

I am very glad we came across this book, and I would strongly recommend it for budding female (and male) naturalists.