About
They squawk.
They screech.
They swoop from palm trees to power lines.
In sunny California, the chatty red-crowned parrot is a part of daily life. Every day, thousands of parrots soar above city streets, cackling and clamoring. They swipe fruit from gardens. They flap over pools and parking lots. They alight on branches where parrots did not always belong.
How did these urban parrots, native to the rugged slopes and wooded canyons of Mexico, find themselves so far from home? How did they form new communities and find new ways to thrive? This true story of animal adaptation and finding new places to belong is an inspiring example of resilience and resourcefulness in the natural world—and within us all.
Art direction and design by Lauren Rille
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Acclaim
A Junior Library Guild Selection
“The prose has a cumulative, almost incantatory rhythm that mirrors the birds’ restless energy before describing how these creatures came to belong somewhere they seemingly shouldn’t. The illustrations are a standout: Pages pulse with magentas, teals, bright greens, and warm golds that evoke the hazy magic of Southern California light, the parrots glowing electric green against dusky pink skies and lush canopy scenes. Certain to have youngsters scanning their own neighborhoods for flashes of green.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[Torres’s] simple but evocative text . . . nods to the parrots’ displacement paralleling human immigration journeys, but this message is one of resilience. Vibrant illustrations favor tropical hues against which the green of the cheerful-looking parrots pop.” —Booklist
“[A] poetic, lyrical narrative . . . Straightforward and poignant, this book encourages readers to engage with their surroundings with curiosity, and to consider ways in which resilience is reflected in many creatures around the world.” —School Library Journal
“Poetic text brings the ‘bold and brave and boisterous’ birds to life, making strategic use of parallelism and repetition throughout, where the same words recontextualized drive home strikingly different emotional beats and bring the story full circle. Magnell’s illustrations are an apt visual complement to the words, depicting the beauty of the parrots themselves as well as pleasing bird’s-eye views of the places they make their homes. Bright colors, clean lines, and an artful blend of geometric detail and simplified stylization combine in the digital-looking illustrations to make every spread pop.” —Horn Book Magazine
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Availability
Simon & Schuster / BookShop / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / Amazon
For best practices against capitalism, please order from an independent bookstore or check out books from your local library whenever possible. (And whenever you support queer- and BIPOC-owned bookstores, know that I am sending extra love and appreciation your way.)
