When we organised our Parrot Month’ theme in January one of the people who was really supportive of our (somewhat naive and unformed) efforts right from the outset was Monica Engebretson, Senior Progamme Associate for Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Insitute. Monica was actually a more inspirational muse than she may have realised. Her insights were invaluable and - along with Mira Tweti, another deeply-committed animal welfare advocate and more of which later - has really shaped much of my thinking over the last few months. So, when she emailed me asking if I’d like to review her new children’s book “Lucky”, a story about a captive parrot that is eventually released back into the wild, I said yes immediately…

Four days later, and the book has arrived - and it’s everything I expected it to be: well-written, thought-provoking, challenging, and (IMHO) a must-buy for anyone with kids, especially anyone with kids who may have starting bugging you for a ‘pet bird’.

Subtitled ‘Based on a true story’, “Lucky” is about a Rainbow Lorikeet captured in the wild on an island in Indonesia, taken to a market where he is bought by a man for his son, Kersen, who “loves birds”, and the relationship that develops between the boy and the bird. Kersen keeps the unfortunate Lucky tied to a perch, an entirely typical experience for captive parrots in Indonesia, but one day sees wild Lorikeets and begins to realise how “terribly lonely and boring life would be” if he were kept chained to a perch like Lucky is. The story culminates in Kersen releasing Lucky into the trees near his house where the parrot soon joins up with a group of wild Rainbows and flies away.

“Lucky” is a simple enough story - and in fact somewhat similar to another children’s book I reviewed just three weeks ago, Mira Tweti’s “Here, There, and Everywhere” which also tells the story of a Rainbow Lorikeet caught in the wild and bought for a young boy, this one living in New York, who again comes to realise that parrots don’t belong in cages and eventually releases his bird (the much more trickily-named ‘Sreeeeeeeet’) back into the wild.

In fact when I took Monica’s book out of the package and read through it I was really struck by other similarities besides the subject matter: neither are didactic or preachy but tell their stories with insight and understanding; both are beautifully illustrated (Melodee Strong who illustrates “Lucky” uses an aptly ’strong’ brush and produces pictures which are understandably not as technically accurate as some specialist bird painters, but they are wonderfully emotive and capture the spirit of the Lorikeets perfectly); both are produced on eco-friendly paper; both are sold to support bird welfare organisations; both name check the very wonderful Indonesian Parrot Project (run by Dr Stewart Metz); and both have their own websites which provide superb information on parrots and avian welfare (links posted below).

They are though emphatically not the SAME book, even if they are telling a similar story. And here’s the major point - so what if they’re superficially alike anyway? They’re UNlike virtually every other children’s book available, which almost inevitably only mention parrots as birds sat on a pirate’s shoulder or stuck in cages or being pointed at as exhibits in zoos. Yes, they’re similar but they’re also almost unique too - very, very scarce members of a genre that I hope grows hugely. Personally I hope there’s a flood of children’s books on the way which point out that parrots are intelligent birds that don’t belong in cages. I hope these two books are the start of a trend that sweeps the planet in fact, and that the next time someone like J. K. Rowling sits down to write about boy wizards she doesn’t inspire children to want to own Snowy Owls but to think about NOT owning parrots. Hey, Jacqueline Wilson, how about the next Tracy Beaker book being all about Tracy storming her local pet stores and releasing the bored, lonely parrots in a splendid blur of colour and noise? Imagine what the great Roald Dahl could have done with the subject if he was still around to be inspired by either Monica’s or Mira’s books…

So “Lucky” and “Here, There, and Everywhere” are both about captive Rainbow Lorikeets and about boys who release them. Which should I buy, I hear you ask? Well, here’s my answer: buy them BOTH (buy lots of both and give them to everyone you can think of actually). They’re aimed at slightly different age-groups (”Lucky” at slightly younger children than “Here, There, and Everywhere” which has a denser text and is longer), one is set in Indonesia one in New York, the illustrative styles are very different, profits go to avian charities, and they’re both carrying a message that quite frankly can’t be repeated often enough. Which child wouldn’t want both books? I love them both, I’m hugely motivated that I should be on emailing terms with both authors (can you tell?), and I want the whole world to read these books to their children until locking birds in cages becomes as unfashionable as smoking cigarettes.

You know, in my opinion we need the same kind of shift in attitude to taking birds out of the wild and caging them that over the last twenty years has made drunk-driving - something my own parents did regularly as did almost everyone else’s - anathema to rational adults. Hopefully through the books and the work of people like Monica Engebretson and Mira Tweti that’s a point we’ll reach one day…

“Lucky”, written by Monica Engebretson, paintings by Melodee Strong. Published the Avian Welfare Coalition, 2009. Softback, 36 pages, illustrated in colour throughout.

“Lucky” can be bought via the Born Free USA website and costs 19.95USD.

There is also an excellent website supporting the book, Lucky the Lorikeet, which has video clips, links, teacher’s aids, and parrot-related material freely available.

About the Avian Welfare Coalition:

Formed in 2000, the Avian Welfare Coalition (AWC) is a working alliance of veterinarians, conservationists, avian welfare and animal protection organizations dedicated to the ethical treatment of parrots and other captive birds.

The Mission of the AWC is to raise awareness about the plight of parrots and other captive birds and to serve as an educational resource for the humane community, lawmakers, and the general public.

The AWC also aims to prevent the abuse, exploitation, and suffering of captive birds, to address issues of rescue, placement and sanctuary for displaced birds, to increase legal protections for captive birds and to support legitimate conservation programs aimed at preserving birds’ rightful place in the wild.

http://www.avianwelfare.org