Greta the Great Horned Owl: A True Story of Rescue and Rehabilitation

by Christie Gove-Berg

Overview

The true story of an injured owl’s recovery and return to nature

Greta the Great Horned Owl is out hunting mice. She has no idea that her life is about to change forever. A train strikes her, severely injuring her wing and leg. A rescue team brings her to a wildlife rehabilitation center—and this is just the beginning of her story. Will surgery save her wing? Can Greta learn to fly again? Her only hope of returning to the wild is to prove that she can hunt.

Greta the Great Horned Owl is a true story told with gorgeous photographs and heartwarming text by award-winning author Christie Gove-Berg. Through Greta’s journey, readers learn about owls and wildlife rehabilitation centers.

• See the inside of a wildlife hospital.
• Learn how veterinarians help animals to get better.
• Find out about owl diets, nests, and families.

Greta the Great Horned Owl is both entertaining and educational, helping to instill in children an appreciation of animals and nature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591938156
Publisher:	Adventure Publications, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/09/2019
Series:	Wildlife Rescue Stories
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	556,367
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Christie Gove-Berg loves nature and wildlife. Her first book, Esther the Eaglet, was written after the rescue of an injured eaglet on her parents’ land. Her second book in the series, Maggie the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon, was inspired by a young bird that was injured while learning to fly in the middle of a big city. (Now Maggie is an educational bird at The Wildlife Center of Virginia, teaching people about raptors.) Christie’s regional book, Minnesota Must-See for Families, encourages families to document their Minnesota adventures together. Christie donates a portion of the profits from her raptor books to The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota and The Wildlife Center of Virginia. When she has free time, Christie enjoys writing, reading, cooking, hiking, and camping. Her perfect day would be a kayak ride to a sandy beach on the St. Croix River with her friends and family. And lots of laughter.

Read an Excerpt

Greta the Great Horned Owl glides low over a field of grass. She listens for prey while her yellow eyes scan the landscape.

Greta’s favorite time to hunt is at twilight. The sunset gives everything a warm glow. Night is coming.

A soft breeze blows across the field. Greta sees a small field mouse nibbling the seeds from a stalk of grass. Greta flies with silent wing strokes toward her prey.

She is hungry. She doesn’t hear the low chug-chug of an engine or the loud thrum-thrum of wheels on metal.

Deer bound away, and foxes scurry out of sight. But Greta glides forward, low and fast. With her eyes and ears fixed on the mouse, she has no idea what is coming.

Bam!

The train hits Greta and pushes her forward. She is moving with the train.
Her legs and wings are trapped. She struggles but cannot get free. She is stuck against the front of the train.

Editorial Reviews

03/04/2019

The third book of the Wildlife Rescue Stories series documents a great horned owl’s rehabilitation. Through firsthand photographs and digitally rendered scenes, readers encounter the owl as she hunts at twilight. In a dramatic photo reenactment, Greta collides with an oncoming train: “Her legs and wings are trapped. She struggles but cannot get free.” Gove-Berg describes Greta’s injuries—a broken leg and wing—both displayed in X-ray images, while compelling photographs show the veterinarians performing surgery and follow-up care. Readers will share in the joy as Greta’s rescuers release her: “People watch and whisper as the vet throws Greta into the air. Greta flies up toward the sky. The people cheer!” Back matter featuring a q&a with Gove-Berg provides additional information about great horned owls. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2019-01-28

The true story of a great horned owl that is hit by a train, badly injured, rescued and rehabilitated, and eventually set free.

The first two spreads show Greta going about her owlish business, listening for prey as she glides over a field at sunset. She spots a field mouse, and the path she takes to chase the mouse unfortunately takes her right into the path of an oncoming train. She is trapped against the front of the train (in an image that is clearly photo-collaged) and is found only when she falls from the train when it stops. She is rescued and taken to a veterinarian, who discovers she has a broken leg and wing. The vet fixes her wing and leg, and she is kept in a pen until she heals and is able to fly again. The illustrations are photographs of the owl, mice, and the rescue personnel treating the bird, and an X-ray showing the broken limbs. Many of these photographs are from stock libraries, digitally assembled to tell the story. While nature-loving children will appreciate the realistic photos of the owl, a design that silhouettes many of them against abstract, computer-drawn background patterns lessens the impact. The silhouetting of the owl's feathers is sometimes too cropped, and a natural landscape background would be more pleasing to the eye. Backmatter gives more detailed information about owls.

On balance, a heartwarming story of a successful bird rescue with somewhat less-than-successful illustrations. (Informational picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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