TITLE: Parrots Over Puerto Rico
AUTHOR: Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore
ILLUSTRATOR: Susan L. Roth
PUBLICATION INFO: Lee and Low, 2013
ISBN: 9781620140048
SOURCE: library
INTENDED AUDIENCE: grades 1 to 6
GENRE: picture book (nonfiction)
OPENING and SYNOPSIS:
“Above the treetops of Puerto Rico flies a flock of parrots as green as their island home.”
From the publisher: “Puerto Rican parrots, once abundant, came perilously close to extinction in the 1960s due to centuries of foreign exploration and occupation, development, and habitat destruction. In this compelling book, Roth and Trumbore recount the efforts of the scientists of the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program to save the parrots and ensure their future. Woven into the parrots’ story is a brief history of Puerto Rico itself, from before the first human settlers to the present day.”
THEMES/TOPICS: animals, nature, history
WHY I LIKE THIS BOOK: I like this book because of Susan Roth’s captivating images. The parrots pop off the page in a cacophony of colors. Kids will want to reach out and touch the three-dimensional fabric pictures. The text is a twin tale of Puerto Rico’s development and the parrots’ decline. Every page has a paragraph devoted to each topic. I think my favorite part, though, was the “Afterword,” which explains the parrot conservation efforts of the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program.
RESOURCES:
- YouTube video about conservation efforts.
- Audobon article about the parrots
- Learn more about the parrots from the Fish and Wildlife Service.
- USDA site on the Puerto Rican parrot.
- Parrot coloring book (Spanish)
You’ll find way more cool books at Susanna Leonard Hill’s “Perfect Picture Books.” Every Friday folks review a host of new books. Join us!
Kirsten W. Larson 
Parrots are so colorful they’d look great in a pb. So glad they avoided extinction.
They are beautiful…The way the story is laid out, you can really see how humans helped them along the path to extinction, and how they are helping the parrots recover.
I have this book on my want list, but haven’t read it yet. It looks fabulous. Thanks for the review!
It’s pretty amazing. It’s been well reviewed and well received. It’s worth a read.
My favorite authors/illustrator. I want to read this book. I’ve seen it elsewhere. They are such a great team. My favorite book is “The Mangrove Trees.” I tried clicking on your link earlier and got a video with no blog.
Hi Pat! I’ll check the link. In the meantime, I I’ll add Mangrove Trees to my list.
So glad you picked this book to post today! It’s one that I originally flipped through because the art was interesting, and then it drew me in further and further. A rare gem! Did hear tell something was missing about parrot toes, worth looking into!
And of course the title and author/illustrator’s names are missing from the front cover. It’s parrots and nothing more. Now I’m intrigued about the toes.
Zygodachtyl toes
I love the illustrations too. The link sent me to a you tube video on Susanna’s page. I mentioned it in the comments, so maybe she can fix it.
Thanks Stacy. I posted the link again and labeled it “the real one.” Hopefully Susanna will see it. And WHOOOOPS on m part. 🙂
I’ve heard a lot about this book, and it’s so neat this Lee & Low book won an honor award. I like Susan Roth’s illustrations!
They are brilliant. 🙂
What a great story of conservation. I have been seeing these beautiful illustrations all over FB!
Wow! What cool-looking pictures! And what a wonderful topic! We can always count on you for great nonfiction titles, Kirsten! Thanks for adding this one to our list!