Beauty and the Beak: how science, technology, and a 3D-printed beak rescued a Bald Eagle by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp. unpgd. Persnickety Press/ Cornell Lab Publishing Group, August 27, 2017. 9781943978281. (Review from finished copy borrowed from public library.)
Happy Fact Friday Summer Readers! Today, I'm featuring Beauty and the Beak: how science, technology, and a 3D-printed beak rescued a Bald Eagle by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp. This beautiful volume is really two books in one. First, a gorgeous photoessay about the birth of a female eaglet. The authors depict the life of an eaglet from the struggle to crack her egg through fledging and first migration. Really, so much can endanger the life of an eagle, including other eagles that might swoop in to capture hard-earned prey. With their sharp vision, strong talons, and vicious beaks, eagles are apex predators. Humans and their actions are the threat to eagles from habitat destruction to power lines to automobile accidents to poaching. It was a gunshot that tore most of this eagle's beak off. The eagle was starving when a police office discovered her and brought her to a wildlife center. It had no room for her but co-author and raptor biologist Jane Veltkamp did. She brought Beauty to her raptor center in Idaho and set about trying to figure out how to make a prosthetic beak for Beauty.
The second half of this book provides an update on Beauty, Bald Eagle symbolism, a note from Veltkamp,an additional five pages of information about eagles, information about it's status as no longer endangered, caution that eagles are still at risk, advice about how the reader can help, and resources, some of which include QR codes.
This really is a must-read! High-interest topic, engagingly told, accompanied by stunning full-color photos and a beautifully designed book from covers through endpages.
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