Hawks and Birds of Prey Picture Books

This particular booklist represents a bit of parenting irony. I have a mild to moderate fear of birds. And yet, my 7 year old has decided that he wants to be a falconer when he grows up and we have read WIDELY (obsessively) about all manner of hawks and birds of prey. He’s helping me overcome my anxiety –to a degree! (I’m a work in progress!)

The start of all of the hawk interest was a family read aloud of the classic chapter book survival story My Side of the Mountain. My son will proudly tell you that he has now read that book 8 times. We finished the remainder of the series and have added various elements to the decor of his bedroom to reflect his newfound love for raptors: we created a raptor silhouette mobile above his bed; posters adorn his walls; framed photographs of him posed beside a peregrine at the nature preserve are proudly on display.

I thought it was about time for a roundup of the best picture books we’ve come across!

Oh, and be sure to check Art for Kids Hub YouTube channel for hawk, bald eagle, and peregrine falcon drawing tutorials. These have occupied us for hours upon hours!

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Tanglewood Hollow has some wonderful printable learning packs for raptors as well (this is where we printed our hawk silhouette mobile; look for the Raptor Exploration Guide. I’m not an affiliate, just enjoyed the pack!).

The stuffed animals below are beloved as well.

Pictured above is my son’s prized possession, whom he has named Frightful after Sam Gribley’s famous peregrine falcon in My Side of the Mountain. The hawk below is part of the Wild Republic Audubon Birds collection, of which we have quite a few along with this one. They are affordable and produce an authentic bird sound from the Cornell lab of ornithology bird recording archives when pressed.

I have two more books on hold right now- I’ll update the post if they’re winners! They look promising 🙂 Be sure to follow along by subscribing to the blog or my Instagram or Facebook pages.