Hawk, I'm Your Brother

Rudy is a boy who wants to fly. In hopes that it may teach him to fly, he takes a baby hawk from its nest. He finally realizes the hawk will never fly free on a string, and lets him go.

The story leads you to think about doing the right thing versus what you might want to do, an important idea for kids to contemplate. With beautiful black and white line drawings and colorful text, this book is one to inspire deep contemplation.

Growing up, Rudy Soto only thought about wanting to fly. One day, while walking near Santos Mountain, Rudy sees a baby hawk. Rudy steals the hawk and calls it his brother because he thinks it will help him learn to fly. Together, Rudy walks with the hawk and allows him to fly but only while he is on a string. The whole time, Rudy notices that the hawk is never truly as happy as he would be if he was with his real family, so Rudy decides to climb up Santos Mountain and release him. When the hawk is released, he calls out to Rudy, as if he was calling out to his actual hawk brothers. Outside, Rudy's hair blows with the wind, he lifts his arms, and all he can think of is flying. He then realizes that the whole time he was with the hawk he show more was flying, even though he was still on the ground. He watches the hawk with acceptance as the other people where Rudy lives notices that he has changed. Rather than using color, the black and white illustrations in this book really tells the story. The drawings allow the reader to be a part of Rudy and his hawks journey in this Caldecott award winner. I was very impressed by how easily you could look at the illustrations and know what emotion Rudy is feeling. A great book for those wanting to read about dreams and bonds between humans and animals. show less

All that Young Rudy Soto dreams of is soaring and gliding like a hawk, but everyone he talks to tells him that people don't fly. He thinks there might be some special magic in birds from Santos Mountain that can make him fly, so he takes a young hawk from it's nest. He wants to be brothers. The hawk screams, struggles, and calls to its brothers from his cage. Rudy takes the bird out to walk in the canyon and play in a stream, but he knows the bird wants to fly. Rudy knows what it feels like to dream of flying, too. He tries to keep the bird content all summer, but every day the bird tugs and pulls against the string, never giving up. Rudy finally admits that he wants the bird to be happy because he loves it, and takes him back to Santos show more Mountain. He unties the hawks string and tells him to fly. As the hawk soars above, it calls to Rudy, and Rudy answers back, like brothers. As Rudy feels the wind blowing all around him, he feels like he is flying, too. Although he never tells anyone about his special power, people notice that he and the hawk call to each other, and that Rudy looks different, and they understand. show less

Rudy Soto wishes he could fly like a bird, not like any bird though; he wants to fly like a hawk. One day Rudy steals a baby hawk right before it could learn to fly. He says that this hawk is his brother and one day they both will fly together. He keeps the hawk in a cage, and when he takes it out of the cage, he ties a string around its foot so it could fly away. One day Rudy observes how sad the hawk looks and how he's looking at the sky wishing he could soar high. Rudy finally decides that since they both can't fly together is not fair that flying is taken away from the hawk, so he lets the hawk go. At that moment when the hawk flies away, and rudy feels as if he's flying also even though his feet are touching the ground. The show more illustrations are done in black pen. There's also no color in any of the drawings. show less

This book would be good for 1st-2nd graders and is about a boy who forms a friendship with a hawk. There are lots of themes in the book and shows how to see other peoples perspective. Also big on what I call "The circle of life" or how all living things are connected.

This story is about a young Native American boy named Rudy who has always wanted to fly. One day he catches a young hawk and keeps him as pet for a while. As the days go by Rudy begins to notice that the hawk is not happy with him because he wants to fly. Eventually Rudy lets the hawk go and when he does he emotionally feels what flying and soaring are like. This is a great story that can appeal to more than just one group of people. The book is about knowing the difference between making yourself happy, and being happy because you did what was right. When Rudy keeps the bird he has a struggle within himself from knowing what he is doing and what he needs to do. When he finally releases the bird it calls out to him. This shows that when show more you do the right thing there is always something wonderful that you feel. Rudy gained a brother, and knew what it was like to fly because he did the right thing. I think that is an important message to relay to students. show less

A young Indian boy steals a baby redtail hawk and adopts it as a brother hoping to share its ability to fly