The Peregrine's Journey: A Story of Migration

A Story of Migration #1

by Madeleine Dunphy, Kristin Kest (Illustrator)

Based on the migration of a real peregrine falcon that was tracked by satellite telemetry, this book follows the world's fastest bird on her annual migration from Alaska to Argentina.

THE PEREGRINE’S JOURNEY vividly describes one of the most remarkable feats in the animal kingdom. Beginning in Alaska and ending two months later in Argentina, the peregrine falcon’s annual migration is an 8,000-mile flight across the Americas. This beautifully illustrated book allows young readers to follow one bird on its journey. Along the way, the peregrine hunts pigeons in Seattle, Washington, flies through the night over the Gulf of Mexico, narrowly escapes becoming prey to a great horned owl in Bolivia, and more. Based on the actual migration of a real peregrine that was tracked by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the book is filled with amazing facts about the bird’s diet, habits, and navigational abilities, as well as stunning views of the many habitats the peregrine visits along the way.

Other Books in the Series: THE TURTLE DOVE’S JOURNEY: A STORY OF MIGRATION. Free downloadable activities can be found on the publisher’s website.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Animals, Nature, Nonfiction, Childrens, Birds

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Madeleine Dunphy’s books have been published by Hyperion Books for Children, Millbrook Press, and her own publishing company, Web of Life Children’s Books—a publishing company devoted to publishing picture books about the environment. Madeleine is also a teacher, activist and mother.

Madeleine has taught special programs at the California Academy of Sciences, Lawrence Hall of Science, Museum of Children’s Art and at dozens of elementary schools in northern California and abroad. She has a BA in anthropology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a MA in education from Mills College.

Madeleine has traveled extensively to research her various books. Her travels include visiting the mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, camping out in the Amazon rain forest in Peru, visiting Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and scuba diving with sea turtles in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Madeleine lives in Oakland, California with her husband, daughter, dog, two cats and a hamster.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good. Follows a tundra peregrine on her two-month, 8,000 mile migration from Alaska to Argentina. (Appreciate the map at the beginning of the book that shows the spots on her route that are featured in the story.) The illustrations are lovely and really highlight the amazing diversity of landscapes she crosses, from the Arctic to deserts, the ocean, the rain forest -- even a big city. Back matter explains more about peregrine falcons ("peregrine" means "wanderer") and explains how near they came to extinction in the 1970s due to the use of DDT and other pesticides (in 1975, only an estimated 39 nesting pairs in the lower 48 States) and the success of the captive breeding and release program (the peregrine falcon was removed from the endangered species list in 1999). It was a special treat to read this story after visiting the World Center for Birds of Prey, which was instrumental in saving the peregrine falcon and continues to do important work to save raptors from continued human-caused threats.

[Louise Goddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed pages. Really informative, I learnt a lot!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many youngsters are just as fascinated as I am with the process of migration, especially journeys that span great distances. In this engagingly-written book readers meet the peregrine falcon whose journey from the tip of Alaska to Argentina--an impressive 8,000 miles--takes two months. Each double-page spread highlights one of the fourteen milestones on her trip, allowing readers to learn about her preferred habitat, food, pace, and the dangers that she herself faces before reaching her home. And then in a few months she will head back north. The text and illustrations show the bird's visual perspective on the landscape below her as well as the many different types of ecosystems through which she travels. Readers will feel as though they are flying right alongside her. I confess that I found her to have a sort of rakish charm and detected a gleam of awareness in some of the images. An afterword provides additional information about the peregrine falcon, including the effects of DDT on the species' eggs and being listed on the endangered species list for a time. This is an excellent introduction to a fascinating bird.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chronicling the journey of a female Peregrine from Alaska to Argentina, this book provides insight into just how amazing the migration of these birds truly is. There are great documentaries on tv that follow similar migrations, however, we really enjoyed this book.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had a lot of facts, but it was good.

[Whole And · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book created with sheer excellence on the migration journey of a tundra peregrine falcon. The perfect science book written through simple yet effective story with accurate and gorgeous illustrations. We studied with this book several times and covered multiple subjects at once. Not to mention we remain in awe of this incredible creature. I have found a new favourite author.