The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry

by Danna Smith, Bagram Ibatoulline (Illustrator)

Overview

Gentle verse and sweeping, majestic artwork set imaginations soaring in a handsome and illuminating ode to the ancient art of falconry.

Join a young girl and her father, the falconer at a medieval castle, as they experience the joys of taking a goshawk out for a training flight. The girl leads readers through all the preparations and equipment needed for the flight — from the hawk’s hood and bells to the falconer’s gloves — culminating in a dramatic demonstration of the hawk’s hunting skill. Bagram Ibatoulline’s masterful illustrations capture the vivid details and beauty of a day spent hawking, while Danna Smith’s poetic storytelling will make readers long to experience the art and sport of falconry firsthand.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763679927
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/11/2017
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 11.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	760L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Danna Smith grew up with a father who was a falconer and was fortunate to learn about falconry from him. She is the author of a number of picture books. The Hawk of the Castle is her first book with Candlewick Press. Danna Smith lives in northern California.

Bagram Ibatoulline has illustrated many acclaimed books for children, including The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman; On the Blue Comet by Rosemary Wells; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Great Joy, both by Kate DiCamillo; and The Serpent Came to Gloucester by M. T. Anderson. Bagram Ibatoulline lives in Chichester, New York.

Editorial Reviews

Ibatoulline invites you into his sweeping, realistic scenes with cleverly shifting perspectives. But perhaps most thrilling is a book with a castle featuring a girl who's curious and accomplished, with her social status and marital prospects blissfully beside the point.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 02/06/2017
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.)

Publishers Weekly

Ibatoulline invites you into his sweeping, realistic scenes with cleverly shifting perspectives. But perhaps most thrilling is a book with a castle featuring a girl who’s curious and accomplished, with her social status and marital prospects blissfully beside the point.
—The New York Times Book Review

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...What young readers may appreciate most, though, is the story, beautifully presented, of the bonding between a daughter and father.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Ibatoulline’s stunning illustrations depict the father/daughter pair hunting and learning together in a landscape of brilliant color and detail...An imaginative and unique title to introduce elementary schoolers to hawks and falconry in a medieval setting—an ideal read-aloud selection, too.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Mr. Ibatoulline’s fine, realistic pictures of castle, landscape and soaring predator have a wonderful feeling of sweep and drama. In small panels, Ms. Smith supplements her poetry with falconry facts and historical context.
—The Wall Street Journal

A trained hawk serves as fierce centerpiece to broad, sweeping views of castle and countryside in this rhapsodic tribute to the craft of falconry...An idyllic picture of an ancient practice.
—Kirkus Reviews

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.
—Booklist

The author presents the story in lyrical form and includes information boxes on each page, which goes into more detail about each subject...I would recommend this book for children in fifth grade, but it would be a nice read aloud for fourth graders. This book belongs in all libraries.
—School Library Connection

Ibatoulline’s lush, painterly spreads work in harmony with the text, tantalizing viewers with visual details of the garb and accouterments (both bird’s and falconer’s) of the sport, and immediately supplying answers as quickly as a listener can formulate a question.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Acclaimed artist Bagram Ibatoulline takes us back to medieval times with his glorious, detailed paintings in this fascinating story about falconry, as told by the young daughter of the falconer at a castle.
—Buffalo News

Here a Northern California author writes with special affection for falconry...Both enthusiastic and knowledgeable about this ancient sport, Smith concludes with a caveat: "Birds of prey must always be treated with care and respect."
—San Francisco Chronicle

From the Publisher

From the sweeping cover image of a hawk soaring over a castle to the lilting rhythm of the text, The Hawk of the Castle is a beautiful examination and history of falconry. Our story begins with a young girl, her father, and the castle that serves as their home as well as an effective literary device. We are introduced to the hawk and venture out into the world to learn more about her work, but every new discovery always brings us back home with the repeated refrain of “for the castle,” “by the castle,” “of the castle,” and so on. The picture focus zooms into small details like the hawk’s perch, the father’s gauntlet, and the hawk’s hood, and then widens out to the wide-open field, the expanse of sky, and the rush of the wind as the hawk takes flight. The swift power of a hawk’s strike is not glamorized for violence, but rather illustrative of a way of life in the time of castles and knights. Unobtrusive text boxes on each double-page spread share more detailed information about the hawk’s equipment, training, falconry terminology, and animal biology. Ibatoulline’s evocative paintings lend a romance to the sport and bring Smith’s words to life. The changing perspectives from page to page are captivating, giving both a bird’s eye view of medieval life as well as a typical straight-on view and provide an entirely new way to see the Middle Ages. A final author’s note contextualizes Smith’s own reverence for the sport and places this brief history within the larger story of falconry. This book works equally well as an accessible entry into the study of medieval times or as an additional resource to understanding castle life. Reviewer: Leah Hanson; Ages 6 to 12.

Children's Literature - Leah Hanson

★ 03/01/2017
K-Gr 3—A serene journey through a medieval landscape with a falconer and his daughter. Each spread features a four-line stanza that describes an aspect of falconry and ends with "the castle": "This is the glove with scratches and flaws/which protects Father's hand from razor-sharp claws/that grasp with ease and hold on tight/as we make our way from the castle." The lilting meter is complemented by smaller text inserts that provide additional information (about the falconer's gauntlet, the practice of casting, etc.) and contribute to the overall usability of the work. Ibatoulline's stunning illustrations depict the father/daughter pair hunting and learning together in a landscape of brilliant color and detail: the fabric folds in their cloaks, the hawk's feathers, and the lush green flora. There are also a number of action poses of the hawk swooping in with talons ready that are sure to amaze readers. Back matter includes a note by Smith that offers further context on the personal inspiration behind the book (the author's father was a falconer), the origins of falconry in China and the Middle East, its popularity in the Middle Ages, and issues facing falconers today (roads, power lines, etc.). VERDICT An imaginative and unique title to introduce elementary schoolers to hawks and falconry in a medieval setting—an ideal read-aloud selection, too.—Jeffrey Meyer, Mount Pleasant Public Library, IA

School Library Journal

2016-12-21
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)

Kirkus Reviews