Happy New Year, educators and parents! As we ease into the first week of January, there is a wonderful opportunity on the horizon to engage young minds and celebrate the beauty of the natural world. January 6th is National Bird Day, and it is the perfect time to spark a love for our feathered friends while learning a bit of history.
This year, you can make the day extra special by pairing your celebrations with my picture book, The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry.
My book, The Hawk of the Castle, brings a unique historical twist to this celebration. It takes young readers back to the Middle Ages, where they can explore the ancient art of falconry. The story follows a young girl and her father, the castle’s falconer, as they train their magnificent hawk. It is a story filled with adventure, loyalty, and the awe-inspiring bond between humans and raptors.
To bring the spirit of National Bird Day (or National Raptor Month in October) into your home or classroom, start by reading the book aloud and inviting children to imagine life within the castle walls. Encourage your young learners to draw their own “noble protector” bird or research the amazing raptors that live in your specific region. They might be surprised to find that the hawks and falcons of today have the same incredible traits as the birds of the medieval past!
Bagram Ibatuolline’s, illustrations in The Hawk of the Castle are designed to be as educational as they are beautiful, providing a visual feast that helps kids understand both history and nature. This January 6th, let’s use the magic of storytelling to inspire a new generation of bird lovers and historians!
More Ways to Use this Book in the Classroom
🦅Implement the book through a comparative anatomy study. Teachers can have students examine the specific physical traits of the hawk in the story—such as its sharp talons, keen eyesight, and hooked beak—and discuss how these biological “tools” made the bird an ideal partner for a medieval falconer. This naturally leads into a lesson on modern birds of prey and their role as apex predators in our current ecosystems.
🦅Use the book as a primary source for vocabulary development and historical context. The text is rich with specialized terms like mews, jesses, and hood. You can create a “Castle Word Wall” where students define these terms and draw connections to how they are still used in falconry today. This can be paired with a creative writing exercise where students write a “Day in the Life” journal entry from the perspective of either the young protagonist or the hawk itself, focusing on the sensory details of the medieval landscape described in the book.
🦅For a hands-on STEM challenge, consider having students explore the physics of flight. After reading about how the hawk dives and soars, students can design and test different paper airplane models to mimic various flight patterns—the long, soaring wings of a hawk versus the high-speed stoop of a falcon. This allows students to visualize the principles of lift and drag through the lens of the story.
🦅Downloadable Activities! Older children will have fun testing their knowledge after reading The Hawk of the Castle with this Comprehension Q&A and younger readers will enjoy this Castle Maze.
Real-Life Inspiration
Did you know my father was a falconer and mentor for over 50 years? I grew up in the field with my dad as he trained his hawks, learning about falconry and birds of prey first-hand. The Hawk of the Castle is an ode to our special father-daughter bond.
Oh, that’s a cool connection with your dad! Love it! This book looks gorgeous! We have a pair of red-tailed hawks (I think) who nest just to the west of us. They hunt our pasture and surrounding areas, so we can always see and hear them. A huge tree just beyond our north fence is a favorite lookout roost. It’s fascinating to watch them teach their babies to fly and hunt. Let’s just say I’m glad my cat is fat. Happy New Year!
What a treat to have a pair of red-tailed hawks nearby watch! They are so smart and agile! LOL, your cat 🙂