RICHARD HEWETT'S HOLLYWOOD: Program Feb 18 at LAPL, Los Angeles, CA

Richard Hewett (1929-2006) was a Los Angeles based photographer who illustrated nearly fifty of my books for children. He also took photos for books by his wife Joan Hewett and other children's book authors. But before he turned to children's book illustration, he worked for magazines and newspapers including Life, Look, TV Guide and the Los Angeles Times. Richard Hewett's work is archived in the Los Angeles Public Library. On Wednesday, February 18th at 12:15 pm, Wendy Horowitz, Photo Collection Librarian will present a few of his 1960s photo essays. The presentation will be in Meeting Room A (near the 6th Street entrance) of the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. The event is free. It will be an opportunity to get a glimpse of LA culture and history of that era as seen through Richard Hewett's unique eye.

ROOM 8: A CAT IN THE CLASSROOM: Exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library, Photos by Richard Hewett

Room 8: A Cat in the Classroom, Exhibit at LAPL Central Library, Los Angeles, CA.

Last Saturday, when I was at the Los Angeles Public Library I went with friends to the library's History and Genealogy department to see the exhibit, Room 8: A Cat in the Classroom, of photographer Richard Hewett's photos of the cat named Room 8, who famously "lived" at Elysian Heights Elementary School from 1952 to 1968. (Elysian Heights is in Echo Park, not far from downtown LA.)

I never met the cat named Room 8, but I heard about him from Dick whose photographs illustrated many of my books. I met Dick in 1977 and over the next 20 years we did 49 books together. Dick’s specialty was photographing animals. (Many of my books are about animals, including the first book we did together, Pets Without Homes (Clarion, 1983). I remember Dick telling me about the Room 8 cat and how his photo story about Room 8 in Look Magazine in 1962 made the cat famous all over the world.

Exhibit at LAPL of photographs by Richard Hewett of Room 8.

If you visit the Central Library, be sure to see the exhibit! It is up until January 11, 2026. And, you can buy the book by Brenda Rees about the exhibit in the library gift shop--which I did. It is also available on Amazon.

Room 8: A Cat in the Classroom, Photographing Los Angeles' Most Famous Feline, by Brenda Rees, Photographs by Richard Hewett, Illustrated by Stuart Rapeport (Photo Friends Publications, 2025.) Photographs from the collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.

Looking at Room 8: A Cat in the Classroom at the library.

If you search the internet you can find a lot of information about Room 8. He even has his own Facebook page. I found the recent documentary by Scott Mabbutt about Room 8 on YouTube. It tells the story of how the cat came to Elysian Heights School and how he became so famous. Dick Hewett and his photos of Room 8 are mentioned in the documentary. A number of former students are interviewed telling what it was like to have Room 8 at the school. After Dick's photos were published in Look Magazine, Room 8 became even more famous and began to receive letters from all over the world. Students at the school answered them. When Room 8 died in 1968 his obituary was in newspapers all over the country. He is buried in a pet cemetery in Calabasas, California. The video is surprisingly emotional.

The video is about a half hour long but takes much longer to watch because it is interrupted by lots of short ads. Even so, I recommend watching it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHjuMEztzow

READ ABOUT SHARKS DURING SHARK WEEK and Beyond

IT'S SHARK WEEK!--the annual celebration of sharks on the Discovery Channel. What better time to read about sharks! You can find the e-books of my books WATCH OUT FOR SHARKS and GIANT SHARK on Amazon. You may also be able to find the hardback copies of the books in your library.

WATCH OUT FOR SHARKS: Based on a major international exhibit that traveled for five years in North America, this book depicts the fascinating world of sharks.

GIANT SHARK: MEGALODON, PREHISTORIC SUPER PREDATOR: For millions of years, a massive shark more than twice as huge as the modern-day great white shark cruised the depths of the ocean, attacking and devouring prey. Fossil remains reveal megalodon to have been more than fifty feet long, with razor-sharp teeth, each the size of a human hand, and jaws so large it could swallow prey larger than a common dolphin. Fluid, detailed watercolors accompany this clear and accessible account of one of the most incredible creatures to inhabit our world.

STORIES IN STONE: On the November SCBWI Recommended Reading List

I am pleased to have my book STORIES IN STONE: Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans featured on this month’s SCBWI recommended reading list in the nonfiction section. Each month, SCBWI features books written and illustrated by its members. And every month highlights a new theme that will foster discussions, activities, and enjoyment!

The theme for November is Native, First Nations, and Indigenous Heritage, featuring books that celebrate the diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. On this list, you will find fiction, nonfiction, Own Voices books, bilingual books, and more. So pick up a book and become immersed in this rich culture.

STORIES IN STONE: Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans is available as an ebook from Amazon. It was originally published by Clarion Books in 1996.  

STORIES IN STONE is illustrated with photographs by Richard Hewett. This visit to the canyons of the Coso Range in the California desert reveals of thousands of ancient stone engravings of people, animals, and abstract symbols -- evidence of some of the earliest human life in North America.

I frequently discover ideas for new books while I am working on other projects. What is mentioned as a passing fact in one book later turns out to be the main theme of another project. For instance, in my book The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde, I wrote a short section about petroglyphs, or rock art. I was fascinated by the stone images carved into the rock and by the fact that they have endured for hundreds of years. A few years later, as I was leafing through a local museum publication, I learned of a rock art site in the California desert where thousands of petroglyphs lined the canyon walls. I arranged a visit and discovered the subject for a new book, Stories in Stone: Rock Art Pictures by Ancient Americans. In it I explored not only the stone images themselves but the people who made them, how they did it, and what the symbols may represent. Learning about people who lived in the past is another of my long time interests. When I visit an ancient site such as the petroglyph canyons or Mesa Verde, I find it easy to imagine myself living hundreds or thousands of years ago. I am amazed by how much archeologists can learn about the daily lives of people who lived long ago by examining the things they left behind. My goal in writing about these subjects for children is to convey some of that same sense of wonder.

IN MEMORY OF CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR, JOAN HEWETT (1929--2022)

My good friend, children’s book writer Joan Hewett, author of more than 20 books, passed away last week. (Joan’s obituary is in the LA Times, Sunday, October 16.) Joan’s books, illustrated by her husband, photographer Richard (Dick) Hewett, are carefully crafted, the words and pictures working together to tell real-life stories--life as an immigrant, actor, or animal trainer, building a subway, running for office, rescuing wildlife, baby animals growing up at the zoo, and other topics. In 1986, after the terrible fire at the Los Angeles Public Library, Joan helped recruit other children’s book authors and illustrators, including me, in an effort to raise money in support of the Children’s Literature Department.

I first met Joan in 1977 in a writing class at UCLA Extension. She and Dick had just published their first book, The Mouse and the Elephant. We became friends and went to the SCBW conference together that summer. (There was no “I” in “SCBW” at that time.) A few years later, when I needed a photographer for my book Pets Without Homes I started working with Joan’s husband Dick. The rest, as they say, is history. Dick and I did nearly 50 books together, but at the same time he continued to do books with Joan, as well as other photographic work.

One of Joan’s projects in the last few years has been finding a permanent home for Dick’s photographs—both his magazine work and children’s book illustrations. The photos are now archived in the Los Angeles Public Library photo collection and are being prepared for an exhibit.  Joan’s family has suggested that anyone who would like to make a donation in memory of Joan can donate to Photofriends.org, the support group of the library photo collection.

The last time I saw Joan was a few months ago when I visited her and shared my new book. Her mind was sharp and she was eager to talk about books and news of the day. I have so many good memories of time spent with Joan—in writing groups, at SCBWI conferences, at author festivals, at her home in Eagle Rock, at family events. Joan was an excellent cook. We watched each other’s children grow up and shared news of our grandchildren. I learned so much from Joan about the craft of writing and creating photo picture books. Even though she is gone, she will be long remembered. I will miss her very much.

 

CELEBRATE BATS during INTERNATIONAL BAT WEEK and during The Whole Year

 

Bat Week is an annual international celebration of the important role of bats in nature. While we often think about bats during the weeks before Halloween, we need to be aware of their critical role in the ecosystem during the whole year. You can learn more at the Bat Week website. 

You can also learn about bats in my book BAT (Morrow Junior Books, 1996) illustrated with close-up photographs by Richard Hewett, now available as a digital book on Amazon.There are more than 950 species of bats in the world today. This book focuses on two species of bats found commonly in the United States--the big brown bat and the Mexican free-tailed bat.

Bats play an essential role in the balance of nature-eating millions of insect pests nightly and pollinating hundreds of different types of plants. Yet unfounded superstitions and fear, plus the destruction of their habitats, are endangering many species of bats the world over. The clear text and forty up-close full-color photographs highlight bats' unusual physical characteristics and present a fascinating view of their day-to-day life and behavior.

Learn some cool facts about bats and other animals in this issue of the National Geographic newsletter.

PHOTO TIP #4 for Illustrating Your Next Book: DIFFERENT SETTINGS, ANGLES and ACTIVITIES

For many years I worked with professional photographers who illustrated my books with their photos. We worked as a team--I wrote the text and the photographer took the pictures. I learned a great deal about photography from them. Recently, I have been both author and photographer for several of my books, including Hatching Chicks in Room 6 and Butterflies in Room 6.
As I was cleaning out files recently I found a list of photo tips from my friend and fellow Grinnellian, Martha Cooper, a professional photographer and illustrator of three children's books, My Two Worlds, Lion Dancer and Anthony Reynoso: Born to Rope. At a class we taught together some years ago she handed out a list of photo tips. 

Today, almost everyone is a photographer--we carry cameras in our pockets in our phones. Whether you are illustrating a children's book, creating a magazine story, or assembling a slide show or family album, or even just sharing a favorite photo with a friend, I think you will find her advice useful. She says:

LOOK and THINK before you shoot. A good eye is more important than a good camera.

Tip #4: Try different settings, angles and activities. Move your subject around or move around your subject. Shoot wide, medium, and close-up shots as well as horizontals and verticals of the same shot so that you (or the editor) will have choices for a layout. 

Example: During the years I worked with Richard Hewett, my role was both writer and photographer's assistant. I helped carry equipment, spot photo opportunities, and sometimes posed as model to give human scale to the picture. For the photo that we used for the cover of our book, The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde, I agreed to climb a ladder in one of the cliff dwellings so viewers could see the relative size of the structures. In another photo, a close-up of my hand holding pottery fragments gives the reader a sense of the relative size of the pieces. The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde is available as an ebook on Amazon.

Photo by Richard Hewett

PHOTO TIP #3 for Illustrating Your Next Book: TELLING A STORY

For many years I worked with professional photographers who illustrated my books with their photos. We worked as a team--I wrote the text and the photographer took the pictures. I learned a great deal about photography from them. Recently, I have been both author and photographer for several of my books, including Hatching Chicks in Room 6 and Butterflies in Room 6.
As I was cleaning out files recently I found a list of photo tips from my friend and fellow Grinnellian, Martha Cooper, a professional photographer and illustrator of three children's books, My Two Worlds, Lion Dancer and Anthony Reynoso: Born to Rope. At a class we taught together some years ago she handed out a list of photo tips. Today, almost everyone is a photographer--we carry cameras in our pockets in our phones. Whether you are illustrating a children's book, creating a magazine story, or assembling a slide show or family album, or even just sharing a favorite photo with a friend, I think you will find her advice useful.

LOOK and THINK before you shoot. A good eye is more important than a good camera.

Tip #3: Your photos will probably tell some kind of story. Even if there is no inherent chronological order, you will need strong opening and closing shots and logically sequenced photos in between.  (Martha Cooper)

All of the books in the zoo animal series published by Morrow Junior Books are life cycle books--beginning with the birth of a young animal and concluding with the animal's independence. The logical sequence of the photos was the real time development of the story. I worked with photographer Richard Hewett on these books.

Pages 4-5, Penguin, photos by Richard Hewett

In Penguin, the story of Magellanic penguins at the San Francisco Zoo, we began with the parents building a nest. The story then proceeded to show the egg, baby chick, and the young chicks ready to be on their own. The final photo looks to the future and shows an adult penguin, bringing the story full circle.

Page 45, Penguin, photo by Richard Hewett

Penguin is no longer available as a print book, but you can find it online as an ebook.

MUSIC LESSONS FOR ALEX: The Making of a Photo Illustrated Children's Book

    On August 3, 1985, the first copies of my new book, Music Lessons for Alex, arrived in California–just in time for the Suzuki Institute at UCLA. Although I have written over 30 books for children, the publication of this book is particularly special for me. Music Lessons for Alex traces the story of an eight-year-old girl, Alex, from the time she first begins violin lessons to her first recital nine months later. Like Alex, my own children struggled through beginning lessons, also experiencing the joy of progress, occasional frustration and disappointment, and ultimately the triumph of success.
    Many children who begin music lessons become discouraged because they do not understand the process involved, and imagine that they will become virtuosos overnight. I wanted to write a book that might help children and parents realize that learning to play music is just like learning to read, play a sport, or any other skill–that it is a slow, gradual, step-by-step process which can be fun and which has rewards along the way.
    In the spring of 1983, when I suggested my idea to my editor at Clarion Books in New York, she was interested. She remembered her own experience of playing the cello in her school orchestra and felt that if she had had a book such as mine, it might have helped her enjoy it more. We discussed how I would write my book and decided that it would be best to present the material in story form. The book would be illustrated by Dick Hewett, a Los Angeles photographer with whom I had worked before.
    Dick and I were lucky to have the cooperation of so many people, particularly Alex and her family, Alex’s teacher, and the students and teachers of the San Fernando Valley Suzuki workshop program. We attended several o Alex’s lessons, during which Dick took unposed photos–trying to be as unobtrusive as possible so that the lesson would not be interrupted. He also took photos when Alex went to group lessons at the workshops.
    When we assembled all the photos for the book we realized that there were some points that I had made in the story, such as tuning, correct placement of the feet,  practicing at home, that did not yet have illustrations, so we arranged to spend a day with Alex and Susan to take those photos. We also took photos of the Brentwood school orchestra to illustrated the point that as Alex progressed, playing in an orchestra was something to which she could aspire. We also wanted to show instruments other than the violin, for, although we had focused on the violin in our book, we felt that the basic process of learning to play music was similar for all instruments.
    When the photos and text of the book were finished and assembled–a process that took several months–we sent them to our editor. Then we worked with her to refine and clarify details. One of the hardest things for me to remember was that because of my involvement in my own children’s lessons, I understood a lot of musical terms that a child or parent new to music lessons, might not. As I wrote, I had to keep asking myself, “What would I want to know about music lessons if this were my first introduction to the subject?” Finally, more than a year after we had submitted our completed project to our editor, the book was published.
    As people attending the Suzuki Institute read Music Lessons for Alex, the people depicted in the photographs in the book discovered that they had become celebrities of a sort. Alex was even asked for her autograph by several people. I was pleased to have such a positive response to the book and hope that many children and parents will have the opportunity to read it.

Note: Music Lessons for Alex has long been out of print. A few used copies are available on the internet. I wrote the above description of the process of creating the book shortly after it was published. The article appeared in Ledger Lines, the newsletter of the Los Angeles branch of the Suzuki Music Association of California.

JUGGLER: Evolution of a Book Idea

In 1988, my book JUGGLER (Clarion Books, 1988), with photos by Richard Hewett, was selected as a Junior Library Guild book. As with many of the topics I write about, the idea for the book was planted long before I actually wrote the book, or even became a writer! The evolution of that idea is the subject of my interview in the JLG guide. Here is what I wrote:

When I was growing up, one of the highlights of each year was going to the circus. I always came home wishing that I could walk the tightrope, tame tigers, or swing on the flying trapeze. The jugglers were among my favorite performers and I was fascinated by the ease with which they tossed handfuls of brightly colored objects into the air. It looked so simple, yet when I tried to juggle just three balls at home, they all flew in different directions.
I forgot about juggling for many years, until I met Jahnathon Whitfield at a local authors’ fair. He had come to entertain the children, and when I saw how delighted they were with his juggling act, it made me remember the thrill I had felt so long ago.
For the next several months I talked with Jahnathon and went with him to his juggling class and as he performed in schools, libraries, and summer camps. Richard Hewett documented his activities with photographs. By the time we went to the jugglers’ convention it seemed as if the whole world was tossing objects into the air. It was remarkable to see how many people enjoy juggling and have learned basic steps.
For me, juggling has always seemed magical. The juggler is like a wizard and the juggled objects appear to hang in space, as if time and gravity have been momentarily suspended. In JUGGLER I have tried to convey that sense of awe and at the same time demonstrate that the skill of juggling is something that everyone can do.

JUGGLER is long out of print, and its black-and-white photos now look dated. (Only the cover is in color.) You might be able to find a copy in your library.

TWO MONKEYS by Peter Breugel

Two Monkeys by Pieter Breugel

When I was researching my book Monkey (Morrow Junior Books, 1993), I ran across this unusual painting by 16th Century Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder depicting two red-tailed macaques chained to a windowsill overlooking the harbor in Antwerp. My book, illustrated with photos by Richard Hewett, depicts the same species and follows the growth of a young macaque at the Los Angeles Zoo.

A friend just sent me the link to an article about the painting, which is currently on exhibit in Vienna. The panel is one of 28 paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (only 40 of his works are known to survive) on display in a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
No one knows what might have inspired Pieter Bruegel to choose the monkeys as his subject in this small painting or what they signify. However, the red-tailed macaques, native to the forests of west Africa, surely must have been as fascinating and exotic to the citizens of Antwerp as they are to visitors to the zoo today.
My book Monkey is out of print in hardcover but available as an ebook on Amazon.

ANASAZI BEAN SOUP and a Visit to Mesa Verde, Colorado

Caroline and her brothers at Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde, Colorado

When I was fourteen years old my family went on an extended summer camping trip from our home in Minnesota to southern California. One of the highlights along the way was a visit to Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado. At that time, the campground was on top of the mesa, just a stone’s throw away from the visitor center and the ruins of Spruce Tree House. My brothers and I spent hours climbing the ladders and exploring the ruins. Inside the visitor center I loved peering at the dioramas with their tiny houses and people, and reading about the pottery, tools, and other items in the exhibit cases, trying to imagine what life was like when the Ancestral Puebloans had inhabited these mesas and canyons. In the evening, our family cooked our meal and ate it around the campfire, much as the Ancestral Puebloans must have done more than a thousand years ago.

Native Americans known as the Ancestral Puebloans [formerly called the Anasazi] lived at Mesa Verde between A.D. 550 and 1300. They left at a time when there was a long drought and never returned.  Their descendants are among the Native American people who live in the southwest today.

When I returned to Mesa Verde in 1990 with Richard Hewett to do the research and photography for our book, The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde, I found the park just as fascinating as I had as a child.  The campground had been converted to a picnic area and as we ate our lunches there it brought back memories of my childhood visit.  Since then, many more ancient sites within the park had been discovered and excavated, and new research was offering new evidence to explain why the Ancestral Puebloans had abandoned their cliff side dwellings so suddenly.

One of my favorite parts of the park was a small garden plot near the visitor center where the park rangers were growing corn, squash, and beans, just as the Ancestral Puebloans had in prehistoric times.  I have always been fond of bean soup and I was delighted to discover in one of the gift shops a package of red beans with a recipe on the back for Anasazi bean soup. Although I doubt that the Ancestral Puebloans used ham hocks or lemon in their recipes, I can imagine that they might have put a chunk of deer meat and locally gathered flavorings into their beans as they cooked them over the fire.  In any case, as you eat this delicious soup, you can imagine that you are high on a Colorado mesa, gazing across the plain below.

Anasazi Bean Soup

1 package of red, pinto type, beans
2 quarts of water
1-2 ham hocks
Salt and pepper to taste
1 16 ounce can of tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
Juice of ½ lemon

Soak beans overnight.  Drain beans.  Add water, ham, salt and pepper.  Cook until beans are tender.  Add tomatoes, onion, garlic and chili powder and cook another half hour.  Add lemon juice before serving.  Enjoy!

The high elevation of Mesa Verde, which is about seven thousand feet above sea level, makes it slightly cooler in summer and wetter than the plain below.  Both the climate and rich soil made it a good place to grow crops.  Beans were added to the Anasazi diet during the period about A.D. 550-750, and were an important source of protein.  Anasazi beans were very much like today’s pinto beans.  The Anasazi ate them fresh and also dried them to be used later. [Page 25, The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde by Caroline Arnold (Clarion Books, 1992)] Note: the term Ancestral Puebloan replaced Anasazi after my book was published.

Visit Mesa Verde: The National Park Service website for Mesa Verde has everything you need to know to plan a visit to the park including directions, maps, things to do, and links to information about camping and lodging.  There are also pages with downloadable activities for kids and for teachers.

This article was originally published in Stepping Into the Author's Kitchen by Sharron L. McElmeel (Libraries Unlimited)

SAVING THE PEREGRINE FALCON is now available as an E-Book

My book, SAVING THE PEREGRINE FALCON is now available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle. It was originally published by Carolrhoda Books in 1985 and is out of print. The cover has been redesigned but the text and full color photos inside are the same as in the original book. SAVING THE PEREGRINE FALCON is illustrated with color photographs by Richard Hewett.  I am happy to have SAVING THE PEREGRINE FALCON now available to new readers as an e-book. You can read it with a Kindle app on various devices (I use my iPad) or on your computer.

For centuries, the peregrine falcon was prized by kings and falconers, who used it to hunt. Bird lovers, too, have long admired the peregrine--which can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour as it dives for prey. Yet a few years ago, it was feared that soon there would be no more peregrines. Pollution of the environment with the poison DDT had interfered with the birds ability to reproduce. This book, illustrated with stunning close-up photos, chronicles the work of scientists at the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Laboratory to save the peregrine from extinction. The peregrine falcon was taken off the endangered species list in 1999 thanks to their efforts and those of other agencies.

Mexico's Ancient City of Teotihuacan Exhibit at the De Young Museum, San Francisco

I can't wait to see the new exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco about Teotihuacan, whose ruins lie just outside Mexico City, and is one of the most fascinating places I've ever visited. Opening September 30th, Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire features never-before-seen archaeological discoveries and captivating artwork from one of the largest and most important cities of the ancient Americas. The exhibit will be up until February 11, 2018.
I am reminded of my visit to Teotihuacan twenty years ago, climbing the pyramids and exploring the ruins as I  researched my book City of the Gods: Mexico's Ancient City of Teotihuacan, which is illustrated with photos by Richard Hewett. You may be able to find the book in the library, or you can read it online. It is available as a Kindle book on Amazon.
Here is a wonderful video giving a preview of the exhibit at the De Young Museum:

SAVING THE PEREGRINE FALCON: a Song to Remember

Peregrine Falcon Art

I have been cleaning out old files and came across this wonderful song created by the First Grade Class at Mission Avenue Open School in Sacramento, California in 1993. They had read my book, Saving the Peregine Falcon, used the information to create the song, and then performed it for me when I did an author visit to their school in April 1993. Afterward, they presented me with a copy of the words for the song along with a torn paper art project of a peregrine falcon. I have treasured it for many years.
Here is the song:

Peregrine Falcon

We are strong falcons,
We are strong falcons,
We are mighty, mighty, mighty, mighty, mighty birds!
But we need your help!
We need your help!
We need your help right now!

We are little peeps,
We are little peeps.
We don't like the DDT that's in our mother's meat!
'Cause it breaks our shells,
It breaks our shells,
It breaks our shells apart!

We are scientists, we are here to help.
We are scientists, we are here to help.
We will save you from the DDT!
We'll work together, you will surely see!

Thank you very much!
We were in "double Dutch",
But we're doing better now, we're better, better, now!

CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW
CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW

THANK YOU FOR YOUR BOOK!
WE REALLY TOOK A LOOK!
FIRST GRADE WILL REMEMBER
TO HELP WILDLIFE!

The good news is that peregrine falcons are now (in 2016) no longer on the endangered species list, thanks to no more DDT and the dedicated work of many scientists. My book, Saving the Peregrine Falcon, illustrated with photos by Richard Hewett, is out of print but you may be able to find it in the library.