Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Sweeping views of a medieval castle and its rural surroundings frame this lyrical look at the ancient sport of falconry. The daughter of a castle falconer narrates as she and her father take their goshawk out to hunt: -This is the arm Father raises just right/ that signals our hawk when it-s time to take flight./ With a stretch of his wings, he flies from the fist/ and soars above the castle.- Though not cumulative, the narrative recalls the rhythmic -The House That Jack Built-; each of Smith-s (Arctic White) four-line stanzas begins with -this is- or -these are- and ends with -the castle.- Ibatoulline-s (The Matchbox Diary) stunningly realistic acrylic and gouache scenes illustrate from all angles, offering close-ups of the hawk, pastoral panoramas, and breathtaking aerial vistas. Small rectangular insets contain factual asides about hawking, and an author-s note gives a brief history of the sport and its traditions. What young readers may appreciate most, though, is the story, beautifully presented, of the bonding between a daughter and father. Ages 4-8. Author-s agent: Ronnie Ann Herman, Herman Agency. Illustrator-s agent: Nancy Gallt, Gallt and Zacker Literary. (Apr.)

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

A lyrical tale of a medieval child's day hunting with her falconer father and their hawk is illuminated by lavishly detailed acrylic-gouache illustrations. The simple text (with a rhyming "This is the..." construction) is supplemented with extensive sidebars explaining the sport of falconry and raptor behavior and an appended historical note. An underrepresented subject executed with skill and care. Reading list, websites. Ind.

ALA Booklist (Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

Medieval falconry gets star treatment in this intriguing picture book. A lightly fictionalized story unfolds in a succinct verse on each spacious double-page spread, while a short paragraph of information appears in an adjacent box. The young narrator tells of living in a castle with her father, who works as a falconer and teaches her what he knows. Together, they care for their hawk, take him out to the fields, and let him soar into the air. Spying a grouse below, the hawk plummets, kills his prey, and then waits for the falconer to collect it. As evening falls, they return home. The medieval setting comes to life in Ibatoulline's precise, detailed acrylic-gouache paintings. The inviting jacket art features an overhead view of the falcon wheeling in the air, with the castle and countryside far below him. The fictional narrative gives the book structure, while the details of falconry add interest and purpose. In the author's note, Smith tells of learning "the ancient sport" from her father, a falconer. A beautifully designed and illustrated volume.

Kirkus Reviews

A trained hawk serves as fierce centerpiece to broad, sweeping views of castle and countryside in this rhapsodic tribute to the craft of falconry.The text unfurls in partly rhymed stanzas that all end, "House That Jack Built"-style, with the word "castle" and so take on an incantatory tone. In it, a white child follows her falconer father as he prepares and carries a hawk—"a sight to behold, / a master of flight, graceful and bold"—out for a day's hunting. In inset corner boxes Smith fills in details about how trained birds of prey are traditionally fed and housed, how they hunt, and the purposes of bells and other specialized gear. She then closes with a note on falconry through the ages to today and lists of informational sources in print and online. With his customary skill Ibatoulline depicts hawk (probably a goshawk) and prey with every feather distinct, light-skinned figures clad in exactly detailed late-medieval dress and armor, an idealized European castle, and aerial views of thatched roofs and gently rolling countryside. Although the hawk is depicted about to snatch up a grouse and is later shown crouched over it on the ground, the rending and tearing bits are left out of view. An idyllic picture of an ancient practice. (index) (Informational picture book. 8-11)

School Library Journal (Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

Gr 1-4 In rhythmic verse, the daughter of a castle falconer thrills to the excitement of this quintessential medieval sport. Soaring gouache illustrations follow the hawk from his castle perch through his ascent to a broad sky, while a separate inset text explains the specific equipment and rituals of falconry. An extensive author's note gives further background.