Book Review of SCREECH: His Hunt for a Home
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The Children’s Book Review
SCREECH: His Hunt for a Home
Written by Pam Lanzi
Illustrated by James Balkovek
Ages: 6-10 | 56 Pages
Publisher: Middle River Press (2025) | ISBN: 978-1946886583
What to Expect: Owls, wildlife, sustainability, nature, resilience.
As human populations grow worldwide, more and more wildlife habitats are being destroyed year after year, and few people are aware of the devastation this can cause to bird and animal populations. In this long-form picture book, readers will learn about habitat destruction and wildlife conservation from a bird’s perspective.
Screech is a screech owl, and he lives in a nesting box in the backyard of a human family. Screech shouldn’t have to make his home with humans, but he has no choice because property developers have destroyed a lot of his natural habitat to make room for new housing developments. For screech owls like Screech and his family, who do not migrate, the hollow trees and spacious hunting grounds of the forest are essential to their survival.
While this habitat has taken hundreds of years to form, humans have destroyed it almost overnight. For the owls and the other woodland creatures displaced by human carelessness, only one thing can combat the sadness and hopelessness the loss of their home has caused—and that is the empathy and care of the few humans who do want to support them.
Screech is forthcoming not only about the hardships his family suffers but also about the emotional impacts he faces and the delicacy of the relationships between humans and wild animals, inviting readers to relate to endangered species as more than just statistics. The story is delivered through long passages of prose, with advanced scientific vocabulary highlighted in bold to help readers build literacy and conservation knowledge, while the black and white illustrations are perfect for coloring. Activity suggestions at the end of the book offer guidance on how readers can get involved in helping animals and birds directly.
Moving and informative, Screech: His Hunt for a Home is a fantastic text for introducing more advanced readers to the principles of wildlife conservation.
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About the Author
Pam Lanzi is a proud native Floridian with a lifelong passion for learning, especially about her beloved home state. Pam dedicated over 35 years to teaching elementary-aged students in Palm Beach County, with much of her time spent working with 4th graders. Each school year, she guided her students through an engaging journey focused on Florida’s unique natural environment and rich history.
Now retired, Pam lives with her husband, Ray, in Martin County, Florida. Their home backs up to a beautiful natural preserve with a small meadow, where they regularly spot wildlife, including gopher tortoises, bobcats, deer, and a variety of bird species—all of which bring them immense joy. Inspired by the nature around her, Pam has cultivated a garden filled with native flowers to attract pollinators. Ray built a large cedar butterfly house where Pam raises monarch caterpillars, eventually releasing them as butterflies. He also constructed an eastern screech owl nesting box, now attached to an old oak tree in their backyard. Each year, they enjoy observing the same adorable owl pair raise their young from winter through spring.
In addition to her love of nature and education, Pam enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing tennis, reading, gardening, and exploring a wide range of crafts.
For more information, visit pamlanzi.com.
About the Illustrator
James Balkovek is an illustrator, designer, and art director with over 40 years of experience in the fields of illustration and design. His career has encompassed a wide range of fields, including retail, advertising, book illustration and design, logo and character development, packaging design, editorial illustration, and children’s book development and illustration. He holds an MFA degree from the University of Hartford.
Earlier in his career, he worked as a staff product illustrator for Mervyn’s Department Store, served as the chief illustrator for Breuners Home Furnishings, and held the roles of art director and later production manager at Fisher Graphics.
As a freelance illustrator and designer, his clients have included Schoolwide, the Association of Christian Schools, Simon & Schuster, APass Education, Skyhorse Publishing, Middle River Publishing, Northrup King Gardening Books, Good Morning Teacher Publishing, Fantasy Magazine, Neely Publishing, the San Francisco SPCA, Lake Educational Books, Saddleback Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, Quercus Publishing, Panthera Press, Liturgical Publications, Game and Fish Magazine, Simple Guides Publications, Santa Monica Pictures, and many others.
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