Swoop

by Nicole Godwin, Susannah Crispe (Illustrator)

A charming, cheeky story about a magpie with one very important job!

Magpie has one job, one desire, one purpose: KEEP THE EGGS SAFE.

Always on alert for danger, will Magpie's determination be enough when rock-carrying intruders arrive?

Why do magpies swoop and why do we have such a fascination with them? Discover more about these clever, cheeky and charming songbirds through this delightful book.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2022

Reviews

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story for young bird lovers.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ultimately this is a book to celebrate magpies and explain their swooping and aggressive behavior protect the young. Most of the book does this admirably through a combination of humor and action. Both perspectives are shown - the fierce protective spirit of the magpie and the fear, hurt and different behaviors of the people trying to keep safe when walking near a magpie's nest. The general thrust of the story is that the magpie does not know that the people are not a threat to the eggs. However, a group of children are and they try to steal the eggs and throw rocks at the magpie and injure it, and then they leave, unpunished and with no censure in the story line - they just walk away leaving the injured bird on the ground. I found this quite at odds with intent of the book and for me it muddies the message as it relies on the reader to judge their actions, and unfortunately some may condone it as magpie attacks can be extremely hazardous.

Everything else about the book is great - with vibrant illustrations, expressive body language in both people and birds and active and engaging language. Unfortunately I can't get past the explicit representation of cruelty.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a male Australian magpie who defends the eggs in his nest by swooping all human passers by. With an uplifting ending, this story lets children know why magpies swoop. Nonfiction back matter informs about the species.

[Lara Bate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about magpies.