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Ookpik-The
Travels of a Snowy Owl,
Written and illustrated by Bruce Hiscock (Boyds Mills Press 2008).
Owls are sometimes pictured as the companions of wizards in folk
tales. In this picture book we will learn about the first year
in the life of a real owl. Snowy owls are true birds of the Arctic.
Ookpik, which means snowy owl in the native language, is born
on Baffin Island, in northern Canada. It is a year when the lemming
population has "crashed", leaving little food for the
winter. Facing starvation, young owl flies south, over trees,
and cities, to spend the winter in the fields of northern New
York State. Based on factual evidence, this book depicts the
struggles and lessons of life of a bird in the wild. |
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Wings
of Light- The Migration of the Yellow Butterfly, by Stephen
R.Swinburne, Illustrated by Bruce Hiscock (Boyds Mills Press
2006). In the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico a yellow butterfly
with a notch in its wing begins a long and dangerous migration.
Along with thousands of other yellow butterflies, it crosses
the Gulf of Mexico. The butterflies make their way up the East
Coast of the United States, passing the ponies of Assateague
Island and resting in Central Park in New York City. Finally
the notched wing butterfly reaches Vermont, where it meets a
female and breeds, and the cycle of life is renewed. |
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Turtle
Tide-The Ways of Sea Turtles,
by Stephen R.Swinburne, Illustrated by Bruce Hiscock (Boyds Mills
Press 2005). This is a picture book in which we meet the magnificent
loggerhead turtle as she makes her way to the beach intent on
laying her eggs. After 100 eggs are buried in the sand, there
is trouble right away when raccoons raid the nest. Later, when
the remaining little turtles hatch, they must make a perilous
journey across the sand to the ocean. On the way crabs, birds,
and a huge shark gobble up what they can. Do any hatchlings survive?
Read this exciting narrative and find out. |
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The
Big Caribou Herd- Life in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(Boyds Mills Press 2003) In this picture book we follow the
migration of the great Porcupine Caribou Herd as they cross the
mountains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to reach their
calving ground on the coastal plane. Along the way the herd encounters
wolves, grizzly bears, snowy owls, muskoxen, wolverines, and
other animals that live in this special part of Alaska. Additional
facts about each animal and this magnificent Refuge are included
at the end. |
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Coyote and
Badger- Desert Hunters of the Southwest (Boyds Mills
Press 2001) This is a picture book about the relationship of
these two predators, and how they hunt cooperatively in the desert.
It is a fictionalized natural history based primarily on things
I actually observed. The book is set in Chaco Canyon in New Mexico
in the time of a severe drought. The watercolor illustrations
depict many petroglyphs and pottery pieces in addition to the
animals and plants of the desert. |
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The Big Tree (Boyds Mill Press, 1999) is a new paperback
edition of this popular picture book. It is the story of a huge
sugar maple in my neighbor's yard that was just a sprout at the
time of the American Revolution. As the years pass we watch the
tree grow and learn about photosynthesis and the life of trees.
Woven into the tale are facts about history and how to make maple
syrup. |
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The Big
Rivers- The Missouri, the Mississippi, and the Ohio (Atheneum,
1997), is a picture book set in the heartland of America. The
book follows the story of the Great Flood of 1993 on the Mississippi
and Missouri Rivers. As the water rises, we read about how rivers
work, the water cycle, drainage basins, and how people strive
to keep the river in check. Readers report a possible Elvis sighting
amid the many facts and faces. |
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When Will
It Snow? (Atheneum, 1995). All the North Country is waiting
for winter to begin. Especially Robin, who rushes to the window
each morning to see if the old meadow is cover in white. This
picture book, set in my town, is a fictional story, but all the
animals are real. Follow along with the three-legged fox, the
snowshoe hare, and the mouse, as they too, await the first snow. |
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The Big
Storm (Atheneum, 1993) is a picture book about weather and
geography. In the spring of 1982 a huge storm swept across the
USA. The storm triggered avalanches in the mountains, tornadoes
in the Midwest, and rain, snow, and hail elsewhere. All of these
weather phenomena are explained with descriptions and diagrams,
as this devastating storm travels from coast to coast. |
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The Big Rock (Atheneum,
1988) is a geology picture book for grade schoolers. It describes
how this chunk of granite was formed a billion years ago, and
with help from glaciers, wound up in my woods. A time line helps
readers understand the huge span of years. |
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Tundra: The Arctic Land
(Atheneum, 1986) north, and the plants and animals that live
there. Much of the book deals with of how living things survive
in the cold, but there is a narrative theme as well. My primary
research for Tundra was a long canoe trip in the barrenlands
of northern Canada, and that story adds my personal perspective
to many pages. |
Books written and illustrated by Bruce Hiscock