Skydiver : Saving the Fastest Bird in the World

The top picture book about peregrine falcons returns in a new paperback edition with an expanded Author’s Note.

High in the sky, two peregrine falcons swoop and dive. The pair doesn’t know it yet, but they will lose most of this year’s eggs: the first clutch to a volunteer scaling the cliff, and the next to the harmful effects of DDT. Told against the backdrop of scientists’ efforts to understand the raptors’ decline in the wild, this illustrated nonfiction book tells the story of several generations of falcons as they’re taken to a sanctuary, reintegrated into the wild, and ultimately relocated to the ledge of a city skyscraper.

With dynamic oil illustrations, author and wildlife artist Celia Godkin effortlessly captures the detail of the falcons and brings to life the different landscapes they inhabit. Skydiver will delight and inform readers with a passion for species preservation, as it documents the struggles and the eventual success of the efforts to save the fastest bird in the world.