Beauty and the Beak
Photo by Glen Hush (c) Jane Veltkamp
Junior Library Guild Selection
2106-2017 CALIFORNIA READS
Teacher Recommended Title
California Teachers Association
School Library Journal blog says:
"Three words: 3D. Printed. Beak. Oh, COME ON. You aren’t impressed? Well check out the backmatter on this book and you will be. It’s insane!"
Deborah Lee Rose is available to do school visits and other author events across the country, specifically about or including BEAUTY AND THE BEAK. You can reach her via the contact form on this website.
Museum of Science, Boston has hands-on STEM activities to make and test models of Beauty's beak in their free Engineering is Elementary curriculum.
Beauty's story is featured on the National Academy of Engineering EngineerGirl website, and as a resource of the North American Association for Environmental Education and National Wildlife Federation Eco Schools' Green STEM.
The year 2017 is the 50th anniversary of bald eagles being named an endangered species and the 10th anniversary of bald eagles being removed from the Endangered and Threatened Species list. It is also the 235th anniversary of the bald eagle being included as a national symbol in the Great Seal of the United States.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAK: How Science, Technology, and a 3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle is my newest nonfiction picture book (Persnickety Press, August 2017). I coauthored the book with renowned raptor biologist Janie Veltkamp, who led the team that engineered Beauty's beak and who cares for Beauty at her raptor center Birds of Prey Northwest in Idaho.
Beauty's beak surgery was covered by media worldwide. Beauty and Janie are the subject of a specially filmed episode of Nat Geo WILD TV's Unlikely Animal Friends. Beauty's story was featured in the National Wildlife Federation's Ranger Rick magazine.
The Engage Their Minds blog says, "...the story of how Beauty’s rescuers cared for her and found a way to replace the eagle’s beak using the technology of 3d printing is an excellent illustration of empathy at work...There are so many lessons to be learned by the story of Beauty, from the perils of poaching to the fantastic feats that can be accomplished by those who work together to beat the odds."
I spoke about BEAUTY AND THE BEAK at a workshop at the National Science Teachers Association conference in Los Angeles, with NSTA past president Dr. Karen Ostlund, who says: "Not only does this book tell the poignant story of human compassion and ingenuity, but it is an inspiration for promoting the value of STEM education. The story of Beauty and the beak is sure to touch the hearts and minds of everyone! "
Lori Oczkus, national literacy expert and author, says:
“Our classrooms desperately need powerful true stories like Beauty and the Beak to inspire students to read informational text and to learn to care for our world one creature at a time! Beauty and the Beak provides many opportunities for students to think critically and discuss important issues surrounding the environment. Students naturally gravitate to reading books about animal rescues and learning how human carelessness often endangers wildlife. Beauty and the Beak presents exciting ways students can learn about and help endangered species.”