KAKAPO RESCUE: SAVING THE WORLD’S STRANGES PARROT

By Sy Montgomery

Sy, Montgomery. 2010. Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot. NY, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN: 978-0-618-49417-0

SUMMARY:

The Kakapo Parrot remains only on the island of Codfish off the coast of New Zealand.   On this island, the New Zealand’s National Kakapo Recovery Team is working to restore the population from the 91 remaining birds. The book follows the author, Sy Montgomery on his journal to Codfish Island and the Kakapo Rescue.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The cover of this book has colorful text in a new and interesting font. The book begins with a map that shows the geographic location of this rescue.  Each page that follows has an image, graphic, or table on it with interesting information.

The first paragraph of the book talks about a specific parrot named Lisa and intrigues the reader by telling them that Lisa’s nest is underground.  The book also gives interesting facts about the parrots; these facts are odd and show that the Kakapo is unlike all the other birds.  This material will engage readers.

The biography at the end of the book is short; containing only five sources but the author worked with the Kakapo Conservation in New Zealand which makes the book for credible. The information is laid out logically and addresses the many parts of the Kakapo rescue and how they live.

CONNECTIONS:

*Study regular parrots and note the differences between the Kakapo parrot and other parrots.

*Consider how the bone and muscle structure would vary on a Kakapo parrot.

*Visit the website www.kakaporecovery.org.nz and learn more about the recovery efforts.

*Think about other animals that have become extinct and consider how a rescue would have changed that.

REVIEW:

Take a parrot. Color it green. Give it soft, fluffy feathers, and whiskers. Give it sumo proportions and take away its power of flight. Make it nocturnal, and have it nest underground. Aha! A kakapo!

School Library Journal