This book follows a day in the life of a father hawk trying to feed his offspring and a young girl who watches him with her binoculars.

The prose is spare and alliterative, making prominent use of action verbs and gerunds that add a sense of movement to the text:

“Chicks waiting.
You watching.”

“Crows charge
And chase,
Darting and
diving,
Driving Father Hawk from their roost.”

“Father Hawk lands on a light-pole.
Dandelions ripple.
Oaks tremble.”

“Father Hawk perches
And searches.
Sun sinking.
Daylight blinking.
Chicks waiting.
You fading.”

Eventually, this beautiful and majestic red-tailed hawk gets the food he needs for the nest. [This might be a good time for a talk about the laws of nature and predators and prey.]

Brian Floca is an award-winning author and illustrator whose watercolors stand out for their stunning and realistic detail. Here he employs a warm palette of greens, blues, and yellows punctuated by the red tail of the hawk. Although most of the focus is on birds, he is able to show a spectrum among them, successfully conveying both the beauty and drama of the great outdoors.

The author ends with two pages of additional facts about red-tailed hawks, a list for further reading and viewing, and links to informative websites, including red-tailed hawk cams, like this one, where you can see them in action.

Evaluation: This book will enlighten, educate, and enchant (to echo its alliteration). The illustrations are outstanding, and together with the back matter may lead children to try to spot hawks on their own, and learn more about them. ( )

This book tells true things about red-tailed hawks, which is a bird that if frequently seen here in Nebraska. The children I teach will enjoy learning more about this bird from this wonderful book. ( )

With poetic text and lovely artwork, author Maria Gianferrari and illustrator Brian Floca capture the majesty of a red-tailed hawk's hunt for food for his family. Perching high above the ground, Father Hawk scans for prey, just as a young girl with binoculars scans for his movement. Eventually, after a long day involving many false attempts, our accipitrine hero succeeds in capturing a squirrel. His eyases will eat tonight!

Like Coyote Moon, the author's earlier work of picture-book natural history, Hawk Rising follows the story of an animal predator on the hunt, in order to feed his family. The text is simple and brief, offering an almost snapshot-style description of the hawk's actions: "Father Hawk spots / a squirrel scurrying / toward a tree. / He parachutes. / Legs tipping, / talons gripping..." The artwork, in the meantime, fleshes out the story, capturing the beauty of the world around the hawk (and girl), and the terror of the hawk's efforts, at least for the prey animals. The two-page afterword provides more information about red-tailed hawks, as well as a list of further reading and resources. Recommended to young animal lovers, although parents and educators of very sensitive children should be aware that Hawk Rising offers a realistic depiction of the natural world, and that the (very cute) squirrel is captured in the end. ( )