Claire Saxby (text) and Christina Booth (illustrator), Wedge-tailed Eagle, Walker Books Australia, September 2024, 32 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760655686
Many of us are fascinated by this majestic bird but know relatively little about it. Saxby and Booth have combined in this elegant book to start to change this. Each page is a combination of narrative supported by explicit information about how and why, using different fonts to differentiate the text styles. Lots of questions are posed and answered. How do eagles use thermal currents? Why do they mock fight? Why do they groom each other? What do the chicks look like, how and when are they fed? When do they fledge?
Did you know that a wedge-tail eagle chick is about 100 grams when it hatches, but has grown to about 500 grams by the end of the first week? As a new chick, it is downy-white with black eyes, but the feathers slowly darken as it matures. Or that the female is heavier than the male, especially when she is getting ready to lay her eggs.
I enjoyed Claire Saxby’s lyrical language, and it is superbly complemented by Christina Booth’s attention to detail, bringing the creatures to life, without neglecting the environment in which they live: the wide sky and the trees.
Recommended for all readers. Teaching notes are available at the publisher’s website.
Reviewed by Maureen Mann