Two bald eagles in Alaska partner and raise eaglets in the picture book The Love Story of Two Amazing Bald Eagles.

As adults, childhood friends Kea and Semaj decide to begin courting, or “pair-bonding.” They perform a kind of aerial dance, chasing each other and sometimes locking talons as they fly. Soon they agree to have a family and build an ideal nest in a tree overlooking the ocean. Kea lays two eggs, and the eagles take turns sitting on them to keep them warm.

In a little over a month, the eggs hatch, and Kea and Semaj begin teaching the eaglets skills they need to live independently, like flying and hunting. At three months old, the children fly off to create their own families, and Kea and Semaj resolve to have more babies.

The book is replete with interesting facts about bald eagles: for example, they live only in the U.S. and mate for life. The author explains their behavior via detailed dialogue between Kea and Semaj. Unfortunately, these conversations are stilted, lengthy, and overly expository at times, as when Kea and Semaj discuss how their brood patches warm their eggs: “‘Yep, and this is so because our brood patches have few feathers but many blood vessels,’ replied Semaj. ‘Yes, and these brood patches come into close contact with our eggs when we sit on them,’ added Kea.”

The book also suffers from a lack of crisp writing, such as when using the passive voice: “Swooping down into the ocean and grabbing fishes were also things these eaglets were taught to do.” Minor technical errors appear throughout: e.g., a missing hyphen or a sentence split by an accidental indentation.

Text and illustrations alternate pages, and the book’s art is excellent, with colorful images of the eagles in action or at rest.

While its flaws lessen its appeal to young readers, this book offers an informative introduction to the lives of the storied bird.

Also available in hardcover.