by Jim Arnosky Book list After revisiting favorite birding spots with his wife an. partner in adventure. Deanna, Arnosky offers a beautifully illustrated book featuring large avian predators: eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, vultures, herons, egrets, pelicans, loons, cormorants, and gannets. Beside paragraphs introducing each bird or group of birds, the book offers impressive, often full-size acrylic paintings illustrating, for instance, an osprey with one wing fully extended or a close-u. group portrai. of owls that shows their relative sizes. In addition, small black-and-gray silhouettes illustrate an eagle, a hawk, and a falcon in flight, and shaded pencil drawings show details such as a pelican's pouch expanding as it traps a fish underwater. Whether holding a wounded wild eagle as a biologist stitches his wing muscle or watching a flock of vultures as they feed on an alligator carcass, Arnosky's experiences with birds form a memorable counterpoint to the information provided. An author's note lists the parks, refuges, and sanctuaries visited and recommends books for further reading.--Phelan, Caroly. Copyright 2010 Booklist From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission. Publishers Weekly "Marvel at these awe-inspiring creatures with us," invites author and illustrator Arnosky in this enriching avian celebration. Foldout pages group birds according to species and common characteristics. Lifelike owls peer at readers with deep, glassy eyes; in a section featuring birds of prey, an osprey's spectacular wing spans three panels, and journallike passages vividly document Arnosky's observations of each bird: "The pelican was catching raindrops to quench its thirst! Suddenly, I wanted to go out in the downpour and drink rainwater too." Arnosky's enthusiasm is evident in his deftly crafted images and in the immediacy of his "field-note" style. Ages 6-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved School Library Journal Gr 4-6-From the powerful osprey on the jacket with its outstretched wing and glittering eyes, through eagles and owls, herons and vultures, and loons and pelicans, Arnosky's painterly eye and literary hand portray more than 20 "flying predators." The brief text is both informative and personal, if not in-depth. Readers are told that vultures have bare heads for "cleaner" feeding in and on a carcass as a practical matter, and given a personal touch of watching a thirsty brown pelican catch raindrops during a coastal downpour. Accompanying the masterful acrylics, myriad pencil sketches illuminate the margins surrounding the text, ranging from a great blue heron's spidery footprint to an actual-size eagle's foot, talons and all. The author supplies a list of birding sites, bird books, and a metric equivalency chart. Six foldout pages allow for the life-size illustrations. Elegant in format and artwork, this book will not accompany young birders into the field, but will be a rich resource for remembering special sightings, and inspire them to keep their eyes on the sky.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |
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