HAWK RISING: STEM Picture Book With Classroom & Event Activities

Best Users: STEM Educators, Classroom Teachers, Librarians, Booksellers, Nature Centers, Home Learning
Best Audience: Children Grades 00-04
 

EXPLORE & DOWNLOAD THE ACTIVITY

Hawk Rising by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Brian Floca (Roaring Brook) encourages readers to look up and watch for red-tailed hawks. The “Spot the Hawk” Activity offers tips and resources for young naturalists to take home and explore. The “Red-Tailed Hawk Glider” allows STEM enthusiasts to fold and adapt a glider to mimic hawk flight.

DOWNLOAD Hawk Rising: Spot a Hawk (PDF)

DOWNLOAD Hawk Rising: Red-Tailed Hawk Glider (PDF)
 

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Our thanks to consulting librarian Jennifer H. Beach. Jennifer is a Certified Professional Environmental Educator and the Children’s Programmer at Kenton County Public Library in Erlanger, KY. Jennifer is also a contributing editor at STAR_net where she writes about library programming.
 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hawk Rising
By Maria Gianferrari
Illustrated by Brian Floca
Published by Roaring Brook Press
ISBN-13: 9781626720961
Age Range: 4 – 8 Years

Early morning and a ruffle of feathers,

A shadow gliding through the backyard.

High above your house Father Hawk circles, sharp eyes searching for prey. From the front porch, you watch.

Swoosh!

He dives after chipmunks, crows, sparrows, squirrels.

Screech!

The sun sets low in the sky.

What’s for dinner?

“The spare, poetic prose of Gianferrari joins the realistic watercolors of Floca to present a day in the life of a red-tailed hawk…Painted from varying angles, dynamic spreads and vignettes present the shifting perspectives of bird-watcher, hawk, and prey. The clever pacing and placement of text match the bird’s actions across, up, and down the page. This captivating introduction to the red-tailed hawk concludes with more than a half-dozen facts about the common bird of prey and further reading.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
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“The lyrical text captures the excitement of observing red-tailed hawks’ hunting efforts in a residential setting. Floca’s stunningly accurate watercolor illustrations beautifully complement Gianferrari’s text. An incredible companion to the author’s Coyote Moon, this latest powerfully demonstrates the wonder that can be found in observing the natural world. Additional information about red-tailed hawks makes the book a valuable educational tool, as well. VERDICT A first purchase for most libraries.”
—School Library Journal, Starred Review
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“Alternating the perspective from ground level to high overhead, Floca depicts the majestic raptor with painterly magnificence, giving its variegated plumage a soft, even shaggy look that renders the climactic flashes of its massive black talons positively electrifying…The author closes with two pages of additional facts and leads to further information. An absorbing reminder that we need never look far to see wild, beautiful nature.”
—Kirkus Reviews