Incident at Hawk's Hill facts for kids
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| Author | Allan W. Eckert |
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| Illustrator | John Schoenherr |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Little, Brown |
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Publication date
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1971 |
| Pages | 207 |
| ISBN | 0-553-26696-9 |
| Followed by | Return to Hawk's Hill |
Incident at Hawk's Hill is a book by naturalist and writer Allan W. Eckert. It was published in 1971. This book received a Newbery Honor award. The Newbery is a special award for children's books.
The story is a historical novel. It is said to be based on a true event. It tells about a six-year-old boy who gets lost. He survives for two months on the Canadian prairie. A mother badger helps him stay alive.
Contents
The Story of Incident at Hawk's Hill
The story begins in 1870. It takes place on Hawk's Hill. This is the farm of William and Esther MacDonald. Their farm is in the Canadian Prairies. It is about twenty miles north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Meet the MacDonald Family
The MacDonalds have four children. Six-year-old Ben is their youngest. He is described as "the greatest problem" of the family. Ben is very smart. But he does not talk much around most people. He especially loves his older brother John and his mother, Esther. Ben feels more comfortable with wild animals than with people.
The MacDonalds have a new neighbor named George Burton. He is a thief and a bully. He always has his mean dog, Lobo, with him. Nearby, a large, pregnant female American badger is preparing her home. She is digging tunnels and a den in some rocks. She is getting ready for her babies to be born.
Ben Gets Lost
One day, Ben follows a prairie chicken. He wanders far from home and gets lost. He finds shelter in a rocky area. There, he meets the badger mother. She is hiding because she was hurt in one of Burton's traps. While she was trapped, her babies died because they had no food.
The badger starts to bring food to Ben. Ben begins to copy her movements and sounds. He starts to sleep during the day. At night, he follows her when she hunts. One night, Lobo the dog attacks the badger. Ben bites the dog. This distracts Lobo, and the badger kills the dog. Even with the badger's help, Ben starts to get very weak from hunger.
The Search for Ben
The search for Ben lasts for two months. Most people think the boy must have drowned. They believe he fell into the nearby Red River. But Ben's father promises never to stop looking. The whole family searches for Ben every day.
John, Ben's older brother, finally finds Ben. He is among the rocks. When John reaches for him, Ben acts like a wild animal. He growls and bites. John manages to calm Ben down. He then takes him home.
Ben's Return Home
The mother badger follows them home. The family slowly accepts her. She becomes Ben's protector. As Ben starts to talk about his time in the wild, he feels more comfortable with people. He even looks forward to going to school.
But then, George Burton comes to the MacDonald farm. He sees the badger with the family. Thinking he is doing the right thing, he shoots the badger. He hurts her badly. Ben's father and George Burton have a big argument over the badger. This event finally brings Ben and his father closer. Ben's adventure is seen in different ways. Local white settlers see it as a story of God's care. The First Nations people see it as a tale that brings honor to their chief.
The Real Story Behind the Book
Every copy of Incident at Hawk's Hill has a note from the author. It says: "The story which follows is a slightly fictionalized version of an incident which actually occurred at the time and place noted." This means the story is based on something real.
However, Allan Eckert did not provide proof of this event. Kenneth Kidd, a writer and professor, has studied stories of children raised by animals. He thinks Eckert might have based his book on old local legends. Kidd said he could not find any other information about the real event behind the story.
In 1960, a magazine called Manitoba Pageant published an article. It was titled "The Boy Who Lived in a Badger Hole." This article talked about a boy who got lost in 1873. He was found after 10 days living in a badger hole. This event might have been the basis for Eckert's book. The author's note says the story is "slightly" fictionalized. This makes people wonder how much of the story is truly real.
Book Editions and Movie Adaptations
Incident at Hawk's Hill was first published for adults. It was chosen to be in Reader's Digest Condensed Book. The pictures by John Schoenherr were used in both the adult and children's versions. The cover art has changed over the years.
Disney made the novel into a television movie. It was called The Boy Who Talked to Badgers. It was shown on The Wonderful World of Disney in 1975. Later, Disney sold this movie to schools. They used the book's title, Incident at Hawk's Hill, because the book was then known as a children's novel.
