A to Z Mysteries – The Falcon’s Feathers

In Ron Roy's The Falcon's Feathers, a nature mystery for 5 year olds, three baby birds disappear from their nest.

What happens

Josh has had a secret for a couple of weeks. He's been climbing a birch tree in the woods to watch a family of peregrine falcons through his binoculars. He's even drawn one! When he finally takes Dink and Ruth Rose to see, there's nothing in the nest but a few feathers.

The grown-ups reckon an owl got them. Josh isn't having it. Mother and father falcons are fierce, he says, and they'd never let an owl near their babies.

So who would take them? There's a friendly ranger from the environment department, a vet's new assistant who stares at the kids a lot and a little metal band with letters on it. Then one young falcon turns up hiding in the weeds with its wing feathers clipped.

This is a really nice one for Josh fans. Usually he's the hungry joker (he still orders pistachio ice cream every chance he gets). Here he's the expert, and he's very sure he knows who did it. Is he right? Dink isn't convinced, and the two of them argue it out the whole way through.

Your reader picks up some real falcon facts along the way too. They pair up for life. When they're chasing other birds they can top 200 miles an hour (faster than a cheetah, as Josh points out). If you've got an animal-mad child, they'll probably come away wanting a pair of binoculars.

Something to know before bedtime reading. Near the end, an angry grown-up locks the three friends in a dark shed. They smash their own way out through the roof with a rake and a shovel, which feels more exciting than scary. Still, if your reader gets nervous about being shut in somewhere, you could read that chapter together.

The ending is a happy one for the falcons and for Josh, who gets a very big bowl of ice cream.

What to read next

If they want to see these three on holiday, The Goose's Gold takes them to Florida, where two men are diving for sunken Spanish treasure.