Hawk Mother; Hawk Mother returns by Kara Hagedorn

 I read the first title, about a rehabilitated hawk who raises chickens, some years ago and felt rather meh about it. However, I reread it when I read the new sequel and I enjoyed the second story more.

In the first book, Hawk Mother, the author tells the story of Sunshine, a red-tailed hawk who was permanently injured when she was shot. Unable to be returned to the wild, she became Hagedorn's charge and the two bonded somewhat, although Hagedorn made an effort to allow Sunshine to be as wild as possible. For seven years, Sunshine builds a nest and lays eggs, but they never hatch since they are not fertilized. Hagedorn tries having Sunshine incubate chicken eggs and she successfully hatches them and raises them, even though they are different species and chicks behave very differently from hawks. Hagedorn ends the story with an inspirational view of Sunshine's life and some information about hawks and rehabilitation.

I felt the writing in the first book was a little clunky and there didn't really seem to be any point to having a hawk raise chicks - there wasn't a lot of information about red-tailed hawks in the wild. So I was pleased to see that the second book was, in my opinion, a big improvement on the first.

In Hawk Mother Returns, Sunshine the hawk is called upon to incubate eggs again - this time hawk eggs. After a brief recap of Sunshine's story, Hagedorn jumps right into bringing in the eggs, which turn out to be from a red-shouldered, not a red-tailed hawk, and Sunshine's careful raising of the chicks. She follows them through hatching to fledging, and eventually they become independent and return to the wild. A note at the end follows up the story of the fledglings and more information about Sunshine's story. There's a brief page of information about hawks in general and red-tailed hawks in particular and a glossary.

My only caveat for the second book is that there's still a certain amount of anthropomorphism as the author talks about what she thinks Sunshine is thinking/feeling. However, despite this, it's a good overview of the how hawks are raised and cared for by their parents and an interesting look at a common but often vilified and ignored local animal.

Verdict: I'm looking for more easy animal books that feature local animals and this is a perfect fit, with a story kids can follow and lots of integrated information about red-tailed hawks which are common in our area. I personally feel the first book isn't really necessary, but it is available in hardcover and paperback and there are plenty of kids and adults who like more sentimental stories of animals.

Hawk Mother
ISBN: 9781970039078; This edition published May 2024 by Web of Life; Review copy provided by publisher

Hawk Mother Returns (with Marlo Garnsworthy)
ISBN: 9781970039085; Published May 2024 by Web of Life; Review copy provided by publisher