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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Parroting Life, February 23, 2008
This review is from: Charlie Bird (Paperback)
Linda Bird has started a series of books about pet appreciation with a very colorful short illustrated story CHARLIE BIRD: THE BEST BIRD EVER and was kind enough to forward a copy to this reader for input. The book is large in scale (11" X 8 1/2"), on quality paper, and is laid out in a format that makes it a terrific book for children to hold and read (or have it read to them). Charlie is a Jenday Conure small parrot, richly colorful both in plumage and personality. And because the parrot belongs to the author, the story she elects to share is the interaction between Charlie and her two little girls Molly and Sara. Using a combination of photographs and drawings of Charlie we are informed of the bird's idiosyncrasies, his daily habits and his antics in eating and playing with human food and accessories. The manner of relating the story is fresh and imaginative and serves as not only the adventures of a perky bird, but also references similarities in human behavior - a solid bit of learning here. Where this reader has a bit of difficulty with the book is the intermittent alteration between Charlie's relating to his owners (very realistically and entertainingly written) and his relationship to his other bird friends: in chapters four and six Charlie converses with his bird buddies and the tender household observations are replaced by fantasy. It seems the story would be more appropriate for young readers if the slant were consistent: reality or fantasy, but mixing the two can befuddle concentration. In all this is a well-designed and written book (with the exceptions outlined above) and for a first volume in what will obviously be a popular series, CHARLIE BIRD succeeds in a different kind of realm. Youngsters will love it - and bird aficionados will get a chuckle from Charlie's humanoid behavior! Grady Harp, February 08
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Charlie Bird the Parrot, February 27, 2008
This review is from: Charlie Bird (Paperback)
Charlie Bird is a small parrot, formally known as a Jenday Conure or a Jenday Parakeet. Charlie Bird, like other birds of his species, is sociable and loves handling by humans. Indeed, we will soon learn that Charlie Bird loves his featherless flock a lot, and Charlie Bird learns that living the wild life is not all it is cracked up to be. We learn a lot about Charlie Bird's routine. Charlie Bird is quite a character. He enjoys playing a variety of games involving toilet paper, blankets, toothpaste tubes and caps, and cereal. I suspect that Charlie Bird requires a fair amount of effort to keep out of trouble. On the other hand, perhaps some people enjoy toilet paper snow. It certainly looked decorative! Many of Charlie Bird's antics were amusing. The picture of Charlie Bird after his bath is hilarious. Charlie Bird also has a knack for helping his friends Molly and Sara do their homework. Charlie seems to be a budding computer expert, and the computer mouse is quite a specialty of his. On the other hand, Charlie Bird has other pursuits other than decorating the house and helping Sara and Molly with their homework. When strangers enter the house, Charlie defends Molly and Sara from such threatening individuals as refrigerator repairmen. Charlie may not have a bark, but he will bite! In chapters 4, 5 and 6, we follow Charlie Bird on an incredible journey. Charlie dreams of being free in the wild outdoors. A wild bird named Rusty dreams of being in a safe place with unlimited food. With a little bird magic, Charlie and Rusty trade places. Soon, each learns that the other's world contains benefits, but also contains drawbacks, and soon each wishes they were back where they belonged. I thought this story was cute and clever. I particularly enjoyed Charlie Bird's adventures in the wild. Linda Bird spiced the story with excitement, but kept the excitement sufficiently tame that even the youngest children listening to this story will be intrigued rather than frightened. I also think that this portion of the story is a great place to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of our modern society. It may look great to live in the woods, but there are definitely down sides! Enjoy! Note: The author provided me with a review copy of this book.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enchanting Book, March 22, 2008
This review is from: Charlie Bird (Paperback)
Linda Bird captures the hearts of children and children at heart with her charming, delightful, and highly enjoyable book about the life and antics of her pet parrot whose name is "Charlie." Charlie is quite a character and very intelligent. Her children Sara and Mollie are depicted as two adorable dolls (literally) in the beautiful illustrations (actual photos) that provide the vivid colorful visuals which heighten the appeal of this amazing book. Numerous photos, two or three per page, accompany each paragraph about Charlie's life. The photos clearly prove that Charlie has endeared himself to this family and he will endear himself to readers of every age who discover this book. What I love most about this book is how Linda so cleverly uses colorful photos of Charlie in many poses as she describes his everyday activities. First, there is the cover photo where Charlie looks like an inquisitive professor. He has a tilted head, lime green feathers that include a blue stripe on each wing and no one can miss his chest which is a bright neon orange hue, all lit up. The first part of this book describes Charlie's favorite escapades, one of which is to hide in a cave created by a crumpled blanket. He also loves to eat some of Sara's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. One of the best and most amusing photos is the one where Charlie is pecking at toilet paper, creating a very fine lace-like pattern with bites of his beak. We are told Charlie loves to chew objects, forbidden objects, in fact, the more forbidden, the more Charlie seems to find a method of chewing the verbotten item. In the second half of the book, Linda writes a lovely fictional story in which Charlie exchanges places with one of the wild birds who visit him daily, when he sits in his cage and looks out the window. Linda creatively shows how Charlie wishes to try out a new lifestyle one that is more risky and dangerous than his current one. The author shows how this pampered and well cared for bird dreams of an adventurous life as he sits on his perch watching the wild birds in the yard, searching for food and taking a bath. Charlie learns from experience by changing places with one of the wild birds, that the grass is not always greener on the other side. In the end, Charlie asks to be turned back into a tame bird, to return to his previous life ... and his wish comes true! He develops a new appreciaton for his family and a new admiration for how the wild birds live. This is a most highly recommended book primarily for children ages 3 - 10 years. Although, anyone who has ever owned and cared for a pet bird would fall in love with Charlie and this book. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]
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