The Book of Eagles

Discusses the physical characteristics, behavior, and life cycle of eagles and describes many individual species, including the African fish eagle, bald eagle, booted eagle, and harpy eagle.

Grade 3-8-- Using the same format, and displaying the same impeccable regard for accuracy and detail found in Sharks, the Super Fish (1985) and Whales, the Nomads of the Sea (1987, both Lothrop), Sattler and Zallinger offer a book that is a must-buy for every library seeking clear, logically organized information about the more than 60 species of eagle that inhabit the world. The eagles' life cycle is described, as well as their physical characteristics and typical patterns of flight and hunting. Sattler's style is lively and packed with many intriguing tidbits such as the fact that a Bald Eagle's 7,000 feathers weight less than 1.5 pounds. Children will appreciate the volume's emphasis on our natives, the Bald Eagle and the Golden Eagle. The "Glossary of Eagles" devotes a paragraph to each of the 60 species discussed, and, for each, Zallinger includes a range map as well as illustrations of the birds in flight, at rest, and in various plumages. The watercolor illustrations are painstakingly accurate, and the small sketches scattered throughout amplify and enlarge upon the text; it is a mere quibble that the overly dramatic cover emphasizes the ferocity of the Bald Eagle and that Zallinger's drawings of humans are stiff and lacking the grace of their avian companions. Ryden's America's Bald Eagle (Putnam, 1985) and Patent's Where the Bald Eagles Gather (Clarion, 1984) devote more space to our national bird, but The Book of Eagles is clearly the one to choose for current, complete, and authoritative worldwide coverage. --Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, CT
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.