Did you know that hawks can see four to eight times better than a human?
Did you know that some hawks even eat other types of birds?
Did you know that hawks use ultra-violet light to find their prey?
Discover these facts and more in this new addition to the popular series that combines raucous amounts of humor with a surprising amount of information on beloved animal friends.
Suggestions for further research. Full-color illustrations were created using pen and ink with digital coloring.
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This book about hawks is bold, confident, and straightforward. It features simple facts and clear, bright drawings on each page. The birds speak in cartoon bubbles and offer humorous commentary. This animal dialogue invites readers to empathize with the creatures and enter their world. Goofy comic images like a hawk on the phone add an air of hilarity but do not undercut the realistic pen-and-ink drawings that differentiate between species and illustrate details. Subplots having to do with voles and snails—who are prey—add drama and provide extended examples of the relationship between predators and prey. The author does mention threats to the survival of hawks, but instead of focusing on dire environmental conditions, he emphasizes appreciation for hawks in the wild. The book offers a very short bibliography (two titles) for further research. With this fourth installment in a series of fanciful nonfiction books about animals in the wild, Eaton is shaping up to be a go-to source for amazing facts about nature.
These additions to Eaton's informational picture series (The Truth About Elephants, rev. 1/19; and others) are characteristically odd, exuberant, and instructive. Straightforward content is presented through expository text in a large, bold typeface. Lively cartoons offer additional details—and plenty of jokes. While human children are shown actively learning about the titular creatures, the butterflies and hawks (among other animals) talk with one another and react to the facts, often with wit. After the child in Butterflies declares those to be her "favorite with wings," for example, a bird sarcastically and disapointingly remarks, "Wow. Okay." Pen-and-ink illustrations, colored digitally with stron black outlines and solid color fills, threaten to overwhelm each spread, but sidebars, word balloons, labels, and other visual elements function as effective organizers. Breif back matter adds further context about wingspans, migratory routes, and more.