Packard Takes Flight: A Bird's-Eye View of Columbus, Ohio

by Susan Sachs Levine, Illustrations by Erin McCauley Burchwell

After a frightening fall from his nest high up on a ledge of the Rhodes Tower in downtown Columbus, Packard, a peregrine falcon chick, sets off to find his way back home. Follow Packard as he visits many of the wonderful sites in Ohio's capital city, including the Center of Science and Industry, the Franklin Park Conservatory and the North Market. Finally arriving at the Statehouse, he can see his nest, and even his family--but how will he reach them? Susan Sachs Levine narrates Packard's adventure, giving young readers a scenic and informative tour of notable Columbus sites.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 2010

Reviews

[Mistiemae1 Downs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought as an introduction to our state's capital city, Packard Takes Flight tells the story of a fledgling Peregrine falcon who find himself beyond the nest for the first time. He tours Columbus, visiting some of the most well-known attractions of the city, on his journey homewards. The sites covered in the book include: the Rhodes Tower, COSI, The Columbus Dispatch building, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Franklin Park Conservatory, Huntington Park, Nationwide Arena, North Market, Ohio Statehouse, the "Horseshoe" Stadium (Ohio Stadium), Ohio Theatre, the Santa Maria, Topiary Park, and Trinity Episcopal Church.

While the children enjoyed hearing about the places so close to home, the fictional portion of the story felt a bit forced and didn't really capture their attention. The illustrations were well done, however, and drew them closer to the book to gaze at their details.

[Kate Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grades 1-5. School teachers in Ohio will be thrilled to have a non-fiction book that takes students on a tour of our capital city. Pair with Cynthia Reynold's chapter book that takes students on a tour of the entire state of Ohio. Marcia Schonberg's offerings round out a classroom collection on the state.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love that it talks about the peregrine falcons and the sights of Columbus (although the Santa Maria is no longer). However, the layout is very busy and hard to follow along. Will use to introduce the falcon program to my students once the Rhodes Office Tower construction is finished.

[Trudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packard fall out of his nest in downtown Columbus, Ohio and gets to tour the city. In addition to the story about his travels, each page highlights a place in Columbus like the Franklin Park Conservatory and Nationwide Arena.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Educational content, but the wrapper was fairly uninspired.

Local sites mentioned include Rhodes Tower, COSI, North Market, Franklin Park Conservatory, Santa Maria, Scioto Mile (though it hadn't opened yet at the time of publication), Huntington Park, Ohio Stadium, Columbus Museum of Art, Topiary Garden, Nationwide Arena, Ohio Statehouse, Ohio Theatre, Trinity Episcopal Church and the Columbus Zoo.

[Sandybear76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased the book at the Buckeye Book Fair 2011.

Packard is a peregrine falcon living on Rhodes Tower and just learning to fly. He takes off and falls into a pile of balls going into COSI. From there, he travels around the city and sees many landmarks of Columbus, OH.

This book would be good for fourth grade as they study about Ohio history.

[G. G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool read about Columbus, Ohio, not a fan of the bird but I liked how they tied the history of the falcons in Columbus. I feel this book would be a great read for the kids in the Columbus area. I did like the map of downtown on the last page.

[Audrey Glick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bird's eye view of Columbus as seen from the eyes of Packard, a fledgling peregrine falcon.