Book cover accessed from: goodread.com
Montgomery, Sy. 2010. KAKAPO RESCUE: SAVING THE WORLD’S STRAGEST PARROT. Ill. Nic Bishop. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-618-49417-0
Summary:
Sy Montgomery takes us on a visual trip to the isolated Codfish Island off the southern coast of New Zealand where the last 91 kakapo (KAR-ka-poe) parrots on earth make their home. Millions of these birds once existed on this ISLAND; this was before human s brought predators to the islands. Today, the island is a refuge where a team of scientists and volunteers are trying to bring back the Kakapo population.
Critical analysis:
A remote island off the southern coast of New Zealand is where the last ninety one kakapo parrots on earth live—“Imagine shaking the trunk of a sapling and finding giant parrots falling to the ground like apples! That’s how common the kakapo (KAR-ka-poe) once was in New Zealand.” Animal loving, Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop accompany a team of scientist and volunteers in an exciting and yet, at times, sad adventure into saving these beautiful, gentle, gigantic, loving, flightless, birds. Sy and Nic unite to work together on yet another addition to the Scientist in the Field Series.
Even though, most of the research is done on site, a list of selected bibliographies and a website (http://www.kakaporecovery.org.nz/) encourage the readers to further exploration. A map at the beginning of the book lets the reader know where Codfish Island is located and at the end, the index, with words that are in bold type, refer to pages where photographs are found. The chapters and sidebars have subheadings that enable the reader to find detailed information quickly and give the reader an idea of how deeply the topic is covered.
The book’s design is carefully thought out and eye catching and the beautiful and strikingly colorful photographs taken by Nic Bishop support and enhance the text—“The kakapo’s flat, yellowish, owl-like face has whiskers like a cat’s--- to help it get around in the dark.” The page numbers are set showing the progress of an egg opening and fern patterns are placed subtly as page decorations. All of these things make the book attractive, inviting, and readable.
The style and writing are clear and easy to understand revealing the author’s passion and enthusiasm in being part of the ten day excursion that allows us to witness the exciting events in the life of the kakapo—“The forests were tall and ancient. Huge pillar-like kauri trees lived to three thousand years old…Yet this land was full of life. New Zealand was a world ruled by birds.”
Review excerpt(s):
School Library Journal, 06/01/2010
Gr 5–8— 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! Once millions of these rather affable birds waddled all over New Zealand. Reduced (at present) to fewer than 90, the kakapo have been isolated on Codfish Island (free of feral cats, weasels, and stoats—all introduced species) and are now under the strict, careful guardianship of the New Zealand National Kakapo Recovery Team. Montgomery and Bishop were granted 10 days in which to accompany members of the team (many volunteering their time and efforts) as they radio-tracked the birds night and day in their forest habitat, weighed chicks, watched nesting behavior through hidden cameras, and plowed through gale-force winds and torrential rain to monitor the well-being of their charges. Excellent photos and a readable, conversational text provide an intimate look at a concerted effort to save a drastically endangered species unfamiliar to most of the world outside Down Under. Readers who enjoyed this author/photographer team's The Tarantula Scientist (2007) or Quest for the Tree Kangaroo (2006, both Houghton) will gobble up this tribute to ecological science in action.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY School Library Journal, A Reed Business Information Publication [2]
BookList, 04/15/2010
Montgomery and Bishop, whose highly lauded titles include two Sibert Honor Books, offer yet another winning entry in the Scientists in the Field series. This time, the intrepid duo heads to a remote island off the southern tip of New Zealand, where they join a local government-sponsored research team that is working to save the Kakapo parrot from extinction. Weighing in at nearly nine pounds, these beautiful, honey-scented, once-ubiquitous creatures, named “the most wonderful of all living birds” by a nineteenth-century naturalist, have become a symbol of human civilization’s devastating effects on indigenous life, and the New Zealand government is directing significant resources to try to ensure the species’ survival. As usual, Montgomery’s delight in her subject is contagious, and throughout her enthusiastic text, she nimbly blends scientific and historical facts with immediate, sensory descriptions of fieldwork. Young readers will be fascinated by the incredible measures that the passionate workers follow to help the new birds hatch, and many will share the team’s heartbreak when some chicks die. Bishop’s photos of the creatures and their habitat are stunning; an awe-inspiring, closing image of the world’s eighty-seventh known Kakapo emerging from its shell captures the miracle of birth, for any species. Like many of the team’s previous titles, this offers excellent support for units about animal conservation -- Gillian Engberg. Booklist, published by the American Library Association. [2]
Kirkus Reviews, 04/01/2010
Under the careful supervision of forest rangers and volunteers on an island off the New Zealand coast, the nearly extinct, flightless Kakapo parrot is the object of an intensive rescue effort described by this experienced writer-photographer team. Montgomery and Bishop waited five years for the opportunity to visit Codfish Island to document this work. They've hatched a fascinating account of their all-too-short but eventful stay. The author's well-organized narrative includes information about the parrots' habits, their near disappearance and current island habitat and the activities of those who monitor each individual parrot through occasional physical capture and daily radio telemetry observations, watch nests and provide supplemental food. Describing triumph and tragedy, she movingly conveys the magic of the forest and of an accidental encounter with a parrot in the wild. As always, the photographer's remarkable and clearly reproduced photographs support and enhance the text. The book's careful design is unobtrusive: The progress of an opening egg sets off page numbers, and fern patterns provide a subtle decoration. Bibliography and a website encourage readers' further explorations. Wonderful. (Scientists in the Field Series) (map, fundraising plug, acknowledgments, index) (Nonfiction. 9-13) Copyright 2010, Nielsen Business Media, Inc. All rights reserved. [2]
Connections:
Language Arts:
· Read aloud, or have students read Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot. Then, have students write a summary or retelling of this book. Younger children can create a storyboard of this book (with partners or in small groups – this could also be a great buddy project with 5th graders and 1st graders, for example). [1]
· Vocabulary – many nonfiction texts contain words that are unfamiliar to students. Use unfamiliar vocabulary in this book to study and build understanding. Use the worksheet: Kakapo Vocabulary to build students’ vocabulary. When students have completed the word map on this worksheet, they may discuss the various words in small groups. Add these words to spelling lists to improve the students’
memories of these words. Use the words in their poems! [1]
· Figurative language - Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot is full of figurative language. Explore the use of figurative language in nonfiction texts. You might consider comparing nonfiction figurative language to fictional figurative language. [1]
· Poetry is always a great way to share understanding of a nonfiction text. Several forms of poetry work well with nonfiction books including found poems (see www.authorwire.com under the book Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon), acrostic poems, and longer poems in quatrain form (each verse is a quatrain). [1]
Watch two videos of Sy’s books:
The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood http://www.authorwire.com/child02.html [1]
HOGWOOD STEPS OUT
Audio: [1]
Awards: [1]
Praise for Kakapo Rescue:
Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Medal for the most distinguished nonfiction children's book of 2010.
KAKAPO RESCUE has been named one of 16 finalists for the American Association for the Advance of Science's 2011 Science 'Books and Films Prizes', for Excellence in Science Books. For more information, click here and then on the open book image at the right of the article.
KAKAPO RESCUE received a Blue Ribbon — Bulletin's choices for the best books of 2010!
KAKAPO RESCUE has been selected as a Kirkus Best Book of the Year 2010.
Booklist named KAKAPO RESCUE one of the Top 10 Sci-Tech titles for Youth!
A Junior Library Guild SelectionFor additional activities, author’s bio, list of books, and much more…access Sy Montgomery’s web page: http://www.authorwire.com/ [1]
Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Medal for the most distinguished nonfiction children's book of 2010.
KAKAPO RESCUE has been named one of 16 finalists for the American Association for the Advance of Science's 2011 Science 'Books and Films Prizes', for Excellence in Science Books. For more information, click here and then on the open book image at the right of the article.
KAKAPO RESCUE received a Blue Ribbon — Bulletin's choices for the best books of 2010!
KAKAPO RESCUE has been selected as a Kirkus Best Book of the Year 2010.
Booklist named KAKAPO RESCUE one of the Top 10 Sci-Tech titles for Youth!
A Junior Library Guild SelectionFor additional activities, author’s bio, list of books, and much more…access Sy Montgomery’s web page: http://www.authorwire.com/ [1]
Bibliographies:
Authorwire-the website of Howard Mansfield and Sy Montgomery, accessed July 16, 2007, www.authorwire.com
Montgomery, Sy, and Nic, 1955- Bishop. 2010. Kakapo rescue : saving the world's strangest parrot. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010. Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed July 16, 2011).
Footnotes:
[1] Authorwire. www.authorwire.com
[2] Montgomery, Sy, and Nic, 1955- Bishop. 2010. Kakapo rescue : saving the world's strangest parrot. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010. Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed July 16, 2011).
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