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In Swoop and Soar's inspiring true story, children (and adults) will discover how science gave two real young ospreys a second chance for life in the wild. Through fascinating wild bird photos and STEM-rich text, readers can see closeup how the chicks grow and survive in the nest. How do their parents provide food for them and protect them from hungry predators like owls? How do Swoop and Soar take their first flights? How do they dive and crash underwater to catch fish, their only food?
In fact-filled backmatter, readers will learn how ospreys (found on every continent except Antarctica), use extraordinary adaptations like razor sharp beaks and talons, reversible toes, and protective eye membranes, to help them dive into the shallow water "strike zone" to catch their prey and feed themselves and their ever-hungry families. The book also teaches how the osprey was once an endangered species because of the insect-killing chemical DDT, and how scientists reintroduced and brought ospreys back from near extinction in parts of the US and other countries.
SWOOP AND SOAR, by the Authors of
BEAUTY AND THE BEAK, reminds us that ospreys in the wild face modern-day challenges of extreme weather, loss of habitat, and impact from human activity. But, human efforts to protect all birds of prey species and the environment offer hope for ospreys' future.
About the author
Deborah Lee Rose coauthored the children's book
Beauty and the Beak: How Science, Technology, and a 3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle, winner of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, the Bank Street College Cook Prize for Best STEM Picture Book, and the California Reading Association Eureka! Gold Award for Nonfiction. Deborah is the author of bestselling and beloved books read around the world, including
Astronauts Zoom! An Astronaut Alphabet about the International Space Station,
Scientists Get Dressed, Jimmy the Joey, The Twelve Days of Winter, and
Ocean Babies. She speaks to schools and libraries, professional conferences and organizations. After many years in Northern California, Deborah now lives in Silver Spring, MD. Visit her website at
deborahleerose.com.Jane Veltkamp coauthored the children's book
Beauty and the Beak: How Science, Technology, and a 3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle, winner of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, the Bank Street College Cook Prize for Best STEM Picture Book, and the California Reading Association Eureka! Gold Award for Nonfiction. A raptor biologist and educator, Jane is founding director of the nonprofit Birds of Prey Northwest in northern Idaho. She cares for Beauty the bald eagle, ospreys and raptors of all kinds, and leads raptor education programs involving live, specially trained educational birds. She directed the successful reintroduction of ospreys in eastern South Dakota. She rescues and treats wild raptors under permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She is the osprey expert for the Sandpoint, Idaho osprey nest cam. Visit her website at
birdsofpreynorthwest.org. 
