Hook

by Ed Young

A young eagle learns to soar in Caldecott-winner Ed Young's newest work. With beautiful, sweeping artwork and spare, lyrical text, Ed Young tells the story of a boy who finds an egg and gives it to a flock of chickens. When the egg hatches not a chick but an eaglet, the hens, the roosters, and the boy all band together to help the young bird fly. In this lovely story about friendship and dedication, the eaglet perseveres and leaves behind the dusty earth for endless pastel skies.

Genres: Picture Books, Birds, Animals, Fiction, Childrens, Nature, Native American

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 27, 2009

About the author

Ed Young is the illustrator of more than eighty books for children, seventeen of which he has also written. Among his books is the Caldecott Medal winner Lon Po Po, which he both wrote and illustrated. He says that his work is inspired by the philosophy of Chinese painting. He lives in Westchester County, New York.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice story about a young boy who finds an egg and puts it under a broody hen. The young chick is different from it's mother and siblings but the boy soon helps the bird to find it's place in the world. I enjoyed the illustrations and simple story.

Read on open library

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hook/ Ed Young/ 2009
Genre: fiction
Format: picture book
Plot Summary:A chick hatched by hens turns out to be an eaglet who must get help from a boy in learning how to fly.
Considerations: no red flags
Review Citation: School Library Journal, vol 55, issue 6, p102
Selection Source: Ed Young bibliography
Recommended age: 6-9

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Lyrical" text? No.

Dull pretend "sentences" like "Kicking up a storm. Looking back." and "A higher place." - it reads like someone taking notes. Not overly impressed with the story concept either. The pictures are OK, but this needed an editor to step in and demand that the author actually do some work.

[Whole And · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rising above our circumstance to reach our full potential despite what we see around us as the 'norm', this is Hook's predicament. An eaglet raised by a hen, they keep telling him he is not meant for earth because he can fly. But how is Hook to learn to fly when he keeps falling while trying?

A stunning book visually and inspirationally, asking us to look at where we might soar in our lives, where our children may have wings with which to fly.

Truly a masterpiece.

[Olivia S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like this one much. Sparse text, but not as poetic and fancy as it thinks it is. The illustrations are sometimes hard to follow. Also the chicken inexplicably seems to talk. Plus, if a bird can't fly yet, taking it to higher and higher places to jump off of doesn't seem like a great strategy.

[Valleri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was short and interesting with captivating illustrations about a mysterious egg and what that hatchling grows into as an adult. This is a story of triumph after tragedy and finding your place in the world no matter how many times you fall. Fall seven times, stand up eight. The message was uplifting and inspirational.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

he artwork in this story is magnificent. With simple wording, it is easy to let the illustrations tell the story. Hook was meant to soar and with the help of one boy, he is able to find his place in the sky.

[Rebecca Caufman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young boy finds an eagle egg and a chicken raises it until it is time to fly.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too conceptual for my taste, would take a lot of explanation for a young reader, and not a fan of the chalk drawings.

[Ivory · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about a flightless bird and never giving up. I liked how the bird had encouragement even after failing. A good class library book.
Copyright: 2009

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

< >2021
Gift from Harper's grandmother

[Chitra · Rating 5 out of 5]

E

[Hallie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't a huge fan of the illustrations and I wasn't the biggest fan of the way it was written either but I did like the message of the book/ the idea that you shouldn't be afraid to be different.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eagle born to chickens has a native american help him to find his place in the world. The story is incredibly simple, but the illustrations are wonderfully evocative. I enjoyed this for its simplicity of presentation. Nicely done.

[Nicolette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary
A little boy finds an abandoned egg and brings it to a group of hens to live with. The egg hatches and a little eagle is born; his mother hen tells him he is not meant for this earth. With the help of the hen and the little boy and a few falls, he finally soars to the top of the sky where he belongs. This book contains limited text with beautiful illustrations that tell the story.

Theme
The theme of this book is to have courage and persistence. As an abandoned eagle, it is very hard for the bird to learn how to fly; he takes a lot of falls, but keeps trying and eventually learns how to fly over a big canyon.

Personal Response
I think everyone can relate to this book. There were many times in my life where I thought I could never achieve what I wanted; but I had the courage to keep trying over and over again. After this hard work and persistence, I was able to succeed. Currently, I am persisting with finding a job after graduation. I have gone on countless interviews and submitted my resume many times, without receiving any job offers. However, this doesn’t stop me and I know I will end up where I am meant to be.

Recommendation
I recommend this book to a younger audience because it contains very little text; the main story is told through the pictures. This book is very good for children because it reminds them not to give up in the face of adversity. It is rare that someone succeeds at something on the first try. In order to achieve great things, you have to have the courage to try and fail. This is a great message for children because they are in the process of learning and trying many things.

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really disappointed in this title. First, I feel as if I've already read the story before in Fly eagle Fly written by Christopher Gregorowski and illustrated by Niki Daly. I also see what Ed Young was going for, but the lack of a lyrical text means that the pictures must take more of the weight but while small parts and pieces are beautiful, the overall pictures are just not that appealing. My biggest complaint is that the facing pages have the same continuous background but are usually separate pictures, presenting the main characters twice on a two page spread. This ends up being confusing and disruptive to the flow of the story. I also don't think that Young's birds look that great- somehow the chickens end up looking awkward. All that said, Hook is sort of an interesting experiment for the illustrator, trying to draw things back and illustrating with some restraint. In some cases, this is carried off well such as the wordless two page spread where the boy finds the egg.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caldecott Medalist Ed Young, author of Lon Po Po (Philomel, 1989) brings us the story of an abandoned egg found by a young boy. The boy presents the egg to a hen who assumes guardianship. The resulting dark, hook-beaked hatchling looks nothing like the other chicks. The hen names the chick Hook, and after observing the powerful claws and mannerisms of the chick, informs the fledgling it is “not meant for earth.” Following this, the hen and the young boy help the chick achieve its biological destiny in the sky. The sparse pastel illustrations on brown paper create a simple aesthetic for the similarly straightforward story. The mute-toned drawings do not stand out from the background, which may inhibit child appeal. This would otherwise be a worthy candidate for story time.

[Kyle Turck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hook is the story of an adopted eagle who happens to grow up with a family of chickens, only to realize that he was meant to fly. The story is quite simple and not overly unique, but the illustrations in this book are simply breathtaking and they really make the story worth looking into. The simplistic text in the story is also very refreshing in a way, since it allows the pictures to tell the story just as much as the words.

I would recommend this to very early elementary, kindergarten primarily, as the story is very readable for beginning readers and would also be enjoyed by young children due to the amazing artwork.

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blues and browns evoke the southwest desert where this ugly duckling-like story is set. Unlike the ugly duckling though, this family of fowl support the eagle who has hatched in their midst who keeps trying until he succeeds in majestically flying away. It doesn't bother me that eagles don't next in the southwest desert or that chickens & eagles are natural enemies. This is a lovely, spare story of growth, illustrated on textured colored ?homemade paper that suggests Navajo sand paintings. A beautiful book.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations outrun the storyline of HOOK, showcasing Young's visual expressiveness with paint and maybe conte crayon on a warm brown paper. His leverage of the full space of each spread (including use of the the edge of the page and letting the negative space also speak), and his selection of intense blue and red, and supplemented with black and browns creates a striking telling. The transition from egg to eagle along a human trajectory also makes for effectively allowing the reader to feel themselves looking closely, looking up, and sensing the emotion of the story.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nearly a wordless picture book, the story of a found egg, the caring of a mother hen who adopts the eaglet that emerges and a young boy is so lovely I turned the pages slowly, then started over more than once. The story entertains by giving voice to the mother, who says to her new one, “You are not meant for earth,” and showing the boy helping the eaglet try to fly again and again. I’ll leave the ending for you to see and celebrate when you read the book. The charcoal drawings are simply and beautifully done. It’s almost like a “sketchbook” of a story.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations (cray-pas? I don't even know what those are called in reality, and I don't know how to spell the word I just wrote.)

Benjamin Franklin would have a fit, though: a Native American boy finds a lone egg and brings it home to hatch with the chickens. A bald eagle grows up wishing he could take to the sky, where he belongs. Majestic flight ensues, with the poor hens left scratching. What a noble bird! Humbug.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple text pairs with pastel illustrations to tell the story of an abandoned egg that is cared for by a hen and grows up to be a bold eagle, resident of the sky.

I really liked how the text left spaces for the reader to fill with careful study of the illustrations, though it makes for a difficult title to read aloud. I like the exercise it encourages readers to get into in which they glean as much information from the illustrations as from the text that make up the story. PreK-2.

[Morgan Groth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Literary Elements: For the style, the sentences are very short and to the point; the climax is when the reader finds out he is an eagle, not a chicken; the mood is inspiring. I liked that the illustrations were subtle and kind of abstract. The fact that the writing is short and to the point makes the reading go quickly, keeping the audience entertained. I think the moral is be who you are and what you're meant to be, even if that makes you different from the crowd.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

With beautiful, sweeping artwork and spare, lyrical text, Ed Young tells the story of a boy who finds an egg and gives it to a flock of chickens. When the egg hatches not a chick but an eaglet, the hens, the roosters, and the boy all band together to help the young bird fly. In this lovely story about friendship and dedication, the eaglet perseveres and leaves behind the dusty earth for endless pastel skies.

[Sam Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ed Young, and I really liked this book a lot. It's an Ugly Duckling story that centers around a bald eagle chick being raised in a family of chickens. The illustrations are superb. I made the mistake of using it in my story time yesterday... sadly, it didn't fly (pun intended). Still, another great book from Young.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't yet rated all the hundreds of children's books I"ve read, but I had to add this one I recently discovered. I loved the short simple inspiring story of an eagle raised by chickens who helped it discover what it could really do- fly high in the sky. Mikaela was inspired to figure out what she does best. This is one I would like to own.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the idea of this story more than the actual execution.


The art is beautiful (he is a Caldecott Medal winner).


There just doesn't seem to be quite ... enough for a great story. Not enough illustration (backgrounds are quite sparse) or enough text (less than 10 words on most of the pages).

[N · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ugly Duckling meets Hawk, I'm Your Brother with sparse esoteric text and chalk illustrations.

[Ramarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spare in in text, with mere phrases per page, this picture book shares the story of an orphan egg, adopted by a hen, that hatches into something "not meant for earth." The hatchling is named Hook and with help from a Native American boy and the hen and her chicks, Hook finds his true home. The beautiful illustrations are done partly in chalk, against a speckled coffee-colored background.