The Call of the Osprey by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent (review)
Elizabeth Bush
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Volume 69, Number 1, September
2015, p. 43 (Review)
Published by Johns Hopkins University Press
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/bcc.2015.0596
For additional information about this article
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/589514
Accessed 14 Jun 2017 21:31 GMT
September 2015 • 43
plice in misadventure, saves her skin more than once—all part of his duty to his
best friend, though Lena’s biting and dispassionate ways leave him wondering if that
friendship goes both ways in this tender and funny Norwegian import. A sense of
expansiveness and possibility pervades this celebration of preadolescent childhood,
with mishaps and merriment unfolding in well-paced succession. Trille’s large and
loving family, complete with a permissive, fun-loving grandpa and Grandpa’s wafflemaking sister, Auntie Granny, provide a sense of security, making it possible for
characters and audience alike to embrace exuberance and grapple with grief when
a beloved character dies. A playful yet sweet story in the tradition of E. Nesbit’s
The Treasure Seekers, this well-observed novel nimbly explores the balance of friendships and the fear and longing that hides beneath the most prickly personalities as
it celebrating old-school scrapes and the rewards of mutual best friendship. AA
Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw The Call of the Osprey; illus. with photographs by William Muñoz. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015 80p (Scientists in the Field)
ISBN 978-0-544-23268-6 $18.99 R Gr. 5-9
To help determine the health of a river, study the birds that nest on its banks. At
the largest Superfund cleanup site along the Clark Fork River in Montana, the
Montana Osprey Project monitors the raptors that, at the top of their food chain,
feed on fish they catch in the river—fish that eat the bottom feeders which, in
turn, are likely to have been contaminated by heavy metals from mining runoff
dating back to the nineteenth century. These toxins accumulate on the way up
the food chain, and therefore the concentration found in the osprey is a good
indicator of the state of the river and the efficacy of the cleanup. Patent joins the
scientists who safeguard the osprey nests (the bird frequently nest near electrical
wires), install webcams used for scientific study and community engagement, and,
most importantly, briefly capture the birds to gauge their health and to equip them
with GPS locators to track their migration patterns. There are many threads to
this particular story in the Scientists in the Field series, and Patent and the book’s
designer do their best to keep the narrative rolling, while sidebars expand upon
issues from bird migration to mining, DDT to Superfund sites. Readers who prefer
to shortcut straight to the birds themselves will be particularly pleased not only
with the myriad photographs but also with inserts on the nesting pairs (Stanley and
Iris, and Ozzie and Harriet), tracked by the webcam as they mated and raised their
chicks. Resources for information on ospreys, western mining, river cleanup, bird
webcams, and advocacy organizations; a glossary; and an index are included. EB
Pizzoli, Greg Templeton Gets His Wish; written and illus. by Greg Pizzoli. Disney Hyperion, 2015 [48p]
ISBN 978-1-4847-1274-0 $16.99
Reviewed from galleys R 4-6 yrs
Young cat Templeton has had it with his family: his mom is grumpy, his dad is
cranky, and his little brothers frequently help themselves to his best toys. When he
sees a magazine ad for a wish-granting magic diamond, he quickly sends away for it
(using his little brother’s piggy-bank money). With the diamond in hand, Templeton
wishes his family away and revels in his newfound freedom and autonomy. Being
alone soon wears thin, though, and Templeton decides to wish for his family’s
return. A joyous reunion ensues, and Templeton happily returns to a life of taking