Maggie the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon

May 1, 2016

K-Gr 2-This is a story of how one peregrine falcon, Maggie, lost partial eyesight and became part of a program at the Wildlife Center of Virginia that teaches adults and children about falcons. Readers follow young Maggie as she begins to leave her parents' nest and practice flying. Her life changes when she crashes into a building and tumbles to the sidewalk. Fortunately, she is rescued and taken to a wildlife hospital. Vets ultimately decide her left eye is so damaged it will never recover. This means Maggie can never return to the wild, as peregrine falcons require both eyes to hunt. Maggie is then trained to work with wildlife educators to teach people about her species. The narration often reports from the unrealistic perspective of Maggie ("She dreams of catching her own food"), a possibly confusing concept for younger readers. Despite this small shortfall, this is a good addition to collections about birds and wildlife. The photographs work in conjunction with the text. For example, when describing her injuries, the text is accompanied by an X-ray of Maggie and a photo of her beak. Back matter offers more information about peregrine falcons, Maggie's family, and wildlife hospitals.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2016
Preschool-G This is the real-life story of Maggie, a city-born peregrine falcon that was injured when the wind pushed her into a building in 2014, damaging her beak and eye, and then rehabilitated by kind experts at a nearby wildlife center. Maggie's emotional journey is conveyed with humanized emotion ( Her heart races. Sounds of the city swirl around her ), from the elation of her first flight and the fear of finding herself alone and injured on the sidewalk, to being nervous the first time she's introduced as an educational animal to a group of visiting schoolchildren. Although the font and design elements of the book are under par, and some of the photos are lower resolution than desirable, the telling itself is immensely empathetic and well-documented. In addition, the back matter is brimming with wonderful facts about endangered birds, wildlife hospitals, and peregrine falcons (they dive at prey from 3,000 feet!), and the story will hold appeal for animal-lovers, budding veterinarians, and amateur ornithologists alike.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016
Maggie, a badly injured peregrine falcon, is rescued by a team of doctors at Virginia's Wildlife Center and becomes an "education bird." The text is generally informative but unfortunately relies too much on anthropomorphizing ("This news makes Maggie happy") to tell the story. Gove-Berg's fascinating photos documenting the rehabilitation process add value. Additional peregrine falcon and wildlife hospital information is appended.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)