A gorgeously illustrated, lyrical non-fiction picture book about loons.
It’s summertime, and as darkness falls there is a haunting sound from the lake — Ooh-hoo-oo, ooh-hoo-oo. It is a loon calling to its family across the water.
This lyrical story follows the life cycle of two loon chicks. We see them breaking out of their eggshells, then learning to swim, find food and avoid predators such as snapping turtles and big bass fish. After they learn to fly, they migrate to the ocean. And when their striking black-and-white feathers finally emerge, they fly inland, each to find a new lake territory and mate.
Accompanying Susan Vande Griek’s poetic text are Karen Reczuch’s gorgeous illustrations, which show the loons as they grow from tiny downy chicks to majestic adult birds. An afterword provides more information on loons, including their amazing diving ability, the meanings of their calls, and the environmental threats that they face. Also illustrated are five different types of loons and other animals that can be found in their lake habitat. The illustrations were researched in the Ornithology Collections at the Royal Ontario Museum, and Ron Ridout of Bird Studies Canada consulted on the text.
AWARDS
Winner, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award, 2012
Winner, Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction, 2011
Winner, Children's Literature Roundtable Information Book Award, 2012
Susan Vande Griek is a teacher and writer who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
KAREN RECZUCH has illustrated many award-winning children’s books. Loon by Susan Vande Griek won the TD Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-fiction, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Picture Book Award and the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada’s Information Book Award. Karen’s other books include West Coast Wild, also the winner of the Information Book Award, and West Coast Wild Babies, both by Deborah Hodge. Karen lives in Lake Country, BC.
