Booby Hatch - picture book review

Virginia Caldwell
Book Review Week 1
TWU assignment
LS 5603 - 20

Booby Hatch


Bibliographic Data:
Lewin, Betsy. 2003. Booby Hatch. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0395687039


Plot Summary:
This story is about Pepe, a blue-footed Booby bird. Set on a Galapagos island, the book follows Pepe from birth to becoming a parent. The main theme is growing up.


Analysis:
Written and illustrated by Betsy Lewin, the picture book weaves the tale of a young blue-footed booby. It has multiple sub plots weaved in to the main plot of Pepe growing up and his feet turning blue. For example, , in addition to watching Pepe grow up, the reader learns about some of the animals who live in the Galapagos Islands, and about the natural enemies who prey on the boobies. The story is written so that the reader remains interested and engaged until the end.

The illustrations are a major asset to the book. They are beautiful, and clearly show what is happening in each page. The drawing focus for the Boobies is on the blue feet, which is an excellent idea, since the reader is waiting for Pepe’s to turn blue. The other animals are also drawn clearly and very realistically.

Lewin combines the text and illustrations to create a feeling. For example, when Pepe and his new friend Tina meet, they dance. They words are carefully arranged on the page to emphasize and cooperate with teh dancing illustrations.


Review Excerpts:
(for prior printing of Booby Hatch)
School Library Journal, 05/01/1995
PreS-Gr 2-Lewin's story about Pepe, a blue-footed booby born on Hood Island, one of the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador, simplifies the species' life cycle so that young children can understand how the birds slowly grow and mature. Although the tone is more leisurely than dramatic, the narrative is totally satisfying as Pepe escapes predation by frigate birds, learns to fly, and joins a large flock to dive for a fish dinner. Eventually he has the urge to mate; he and a female exhibit courting behavior, a patterned dance where both display their large, blue feet. The actual mating is not pictured. The story ends as it began: ``And soon a little white egg will sit in a circle of stones, on a tiny island, in a vast blue sea.'' Lewin's watercolor landscapes are spare and evocative, encompassing plenty of sky, ocean, and bare rock, and offering glimpses of other Galapagos creatures, such as lava lizards, marine iguanas, sea lions, and the area's well-known Sally Lightfoot crabs and Darwin's finches. At times, the bird's crossed eyes give a humorous touch to the book, entirely in keeping with the intended audience's age; with an adult's help, children will also understand the title's pun. A lovely book that succeeds in every way.-Ellen Fader, Oregon State Library, Salem

BookList, 03/01/1995
Ages 4-7. "On a tiny island in a vast blue sea, in a circle of stones, sits a little white egg." Focusing on P‚epe, the blue-footed booby who hatches out of the egg, the book shows the ways of this bird species, native to the Gal apagos Islands. The bird's name is the book's only anthropomorphic touch. After the egg hatches, the little bird is fed and protected by his parents until he learns to fend for himself. As an adult, he joins a flock of boobies, meets a female, performs a mating dance, and "soon a little white egg will sit in a circle of stones," rounding out the life cycle and the story. Each pleasing, double-page spread features a well-composed sketch or a series of sketches, all beautifully tinted with watercolor washes. A simple, appealing nature study for young children. ((Reviewed Mar. 1, 1995)) -- Carolyn Phelan. Booklist, published by the American Library Association.



The above reviews are from Book Index with Reviews. 2007 EBSCO Publishing, Powered by The Title Source TM (Accessed through http://online.twu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_142_1 on August 7, 2007).



Connections:
Some books with similar themes:
The Turtle Lady, by Patsy McCleery; I Can! Can You?, by Carol Adorjan, Moonbear’s Pet, by Frank Asch; Home, by Jeannie Baker; Goose’s Story, by Cary Best.

Activities:
This book could easily be a part of many class activities. It would be great as a part of a unit about the Galapagos Islands, growing up, or birds. This is a great book with the potential to be a part of many class activities.