Hawk, I'm Your Brother

It is an excellent book for children 5-7 years old. The story encourages us to take care of animals and allow them to be free and not captured in cages. The writing style the children found different and enjoyed seeing another way to put words on the page. You had to use your imagination since it used black sketched drawings. Younger children would enjoy the story.

A beautiful, well written, poignant story about a boy who wants to fly and does not understand why he can't. So, understanding birds the way he does, he wants to fly like a hawk. He decides to sneak off to Santos Mountain and steal a young Red Tail Hawk from of its nest. The boy, Rudy Soto, desires to be the hawk's brother so they can learn to fly together. But he finally realizes at the end of summer after all the other young hawks have learned to fly that the bird is unhappy living in a cage with a string tied around its leg. He realizes the bird will not give up and longs for freedom. The hawk wants to fly. That's all he's ever wanted, just like Rudy. I won't give away the ending. You'll just have to read it with your children and share with them what this remarkable story has to offer. Byrd Baylor's books are not just for children. Grownups enjoy them too. They are simple stories about desert life that offer great insight about living and what is truly important way beyond material possessions. This book is about sky and wind and freedom and the beauty that is unique to the desert. I loved it!

My five-year-old son loves to think about flying with hawks and loves to think about having a hawk for a brother. He gets upset with Rudy Soto (the main character of this book) for taking a hawk chick from its nest, but enjoys the end when he sets him free and the hawk and the boy "talk" back and forth to each other. Like Rudy, my son thinks maybe there are some people out there who really do know how to fly... The Caldecott-winning drawings are simple line drawings that evoke the idea of flight (or being grounded on occassion). The text accents the drawings-- It is broken into many short lines, which draw the eye up to the top of the pages. It becomes a single free-verse poem of flight. The combination of the story, the exact words chosen, and the pictures have let to many discussions with my son already and he has only had this book for a couple of weeks. Highly recommended!

Kids really like this book, what kid hasn't dreamed of flying and keeping a wild bird as a pet. The message is powerful, that humans can gain much from kinship with free wild animals--a glimpse into a broader view of life. Peter Parnall's illustrations are hauntingly lovely. Nice gift for kids of all ages, especially those who love nature and animals.

My husband and I purchased this book because we are always searching for good books to read to our nine grandchildren..they have loved the Byrd Baylor books. "Hawk, I am Your Brother" is education and sensitive to being quiet and watching to learn. It is an easy read for all ages of our grandchildren, ages 18 years old to 9 years old. No matter the age they loved being read to, especially by Grandpa. They already watch TV that does nothing for their imagination or originality. We have found the local bookstores thin on Baylor books. :(