From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-A series of vignettes centered on a baker's dozen of birds passing through or becoming residents at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center (TLC) in Anchorage, AK. As an artist, Harris began by studying, photographing, and drawing the creatures for a planned series of scientific illustrations. That project grew into her own involvement with TLC and this book, a tribute to the birds, the volunteers, and the medical staff of the center. Each bird's story of its arrival, stay, and/or departure from TLC is accompanied by a small list of vital statistics of its species and a lovely, accurate drawing in pencil and painted with pastel dust. The "gift" of One Wing, a severely disabled bald eagle, was the gift of life itself. He was the principal blood donor for other eagles sickened by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound. The book closes on an upbeat note-the release of nine of these magnificent raptors back into the wild. Attractive in and of itself with its graceful illustrations, elegant font, and artistic layout, One Wing's Gift will appeal to older readers, some of whom may be moved to invest time and energy in other such wildlife-rescue programs.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NYCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
In the cleanup following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, workers rescued dozens of wild birds from the shores of Prince William Sound. One bald eagle, poisoned by oily prey, came to the rescue center with a wing so mangled it had to be amputated. No one expected the bird to survive. But even after vets repeatedly took the eagle's blood for transfusions to other eagles, "One Wing" clung to life, an unexpected survivor.
ONE WING'S GIFT tells the heartwarming stories of this special bird and a dozen others rescued by the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage, Alaska. From the majestic bald eagle to the common raven, from the great horned owl to the tiny black-capped chickadee, Bird TLC has been rescuing and rehabilitating Alaska's diseased and injured wild birds since 1988.
Joan Harris's exquisitely detailed graphite portraits of each bird complement her touching tales. Harris spent more than four years working on the intricate illustrations, delicately hand-coloring these pencil drawings of some of the most inspiring birds from the rescue center. This uplifting book will appeal to bird lovers of all ages. Harris will donate a portion of her royalties to Bird TLC.
