If You Were a Parrot

Physical & Behavioral Adaptation

by Katherine Rawson, Sherry Rogers (Illustrator)

This whimsical story lets children imagine what life would be like if they were a pet parrot. Readers join four parrots their young, multicultural owners as they morph into four-toed parrots climbing around the house, then chew wooden spoons, popsicles―sticks and all―with hooked parrot beaks! The fun continues as children learn all about parrots and their adaptations.The “For Creative Minds” section has parrot fun facts, tips for taking care of a pet parrot and a “Make a Beak” craft.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Katherine Rawson is a writer, teacher, and lover of all things parrot. Originally from Connecticut, she has lived and traveled in Europe, Latin America, and Washington, DC, and has taught English as a Second Language to students from all over the world. In addition to her children's books, Katherine has written extensively for educational publishers in the areas of ESL/​ELL, ELA, and Reading.

Katherine's first book for children, If You Were a Parrot, was inspired by her own pet, Shadow, a small green parrot with a big personality. Katherine and Shadow live in a small town in Vermont where they enjoy taking walks on dirt roads, watching the "outside" birds, growing flowers and vegetables, and making pancakes. They also like reading books together. Shadow's favorite part of a book is when she gets to chew the pages.

Reviews

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and interactive book that allows children the opportunity to learn about parrots more by setting its children characters into the world of the parrot as their parrot pals watch on.

Each set of pages offers a child and their pet parrot along with a fun fact set in the form of "if you were....". The page then goes on to explore the fact and how if you were a parrot it would affect you while your response to it. And as such each child-parrot shows a different parrot trait for the most part that allows them to do the said fact.

What I found interesting about the book was not only the fact of using multi-ethnic children but also using various parrot species for each thus allowing the reader to get to know some of the more well-known parrot pets. Furthermore if you looked closely each child was a reflection of his parrot down to the different coloring of that parrot's beak.

So if you have a child who loves parrots or is fascinated by them I would definitely suggest this book due to the care of detail to the illustrations and the small inclusion of more fun facts in the back. Otherwise it could also be a book one may want to pass by in their exploration of reading if the style doesn't seem to fit your reading preferences.

[Amber Gregg -Judging More Than Just the Cover · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a terrifying image to see a child with talons and toes bent backward. I could see this giving me nightmares as a kid. Interesting info, but rubbed me the wrong way.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. It gives a lot of details about behaviors of a parrot. The end has some extra facts. It also tells kids about what is expected when you have a pet parrot.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, but the illustrations are so creepy

[Aimee]

This is a very funny tale about relating a parrot to a human being. The possibilities in this book of how much parrots and children are alike are endless.

Asking a child what it would be like to have only four toes and two of them would be backwards would get some interesting answers. This book ponders what it would be like for a child to be just like a real life parrot. Through all the silly text and pictures students are actually learning a lot about parrot behavior. This book also offers fun facts about parrots at the end of the story. Students could pick an animal to research, and then share what they have learned with the class. These fun facts would be something that they could report on to the class.

[Megan MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This silly story allows the reader to use their imagination. Much discussion can be opened up after this story is read and I love how we watch the character through the pages doing things that a parrat would do. This was a funny story and children would definitly remain engaged. I think as teachers we sometimes forget to read simple, creative stories for fun and this is one that could be used. This book is also interactive as well. At the end of the story there is also activities such as a parrot beak to make and facts about a parrot to prepare you for a pet parrot. This text is open for creativity and silliness!

[JustOneMoreBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can I have lived this long and never noticed that two of a parrot’s toes are on backwards? This playful and original book about life as a parrot is as entertaining as it is educational. My view of parrots is forever changed!

Listen to our chat about this book on our JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast:
http://www.justonemorebook.com/2007/0...

[Kristen Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that would definitely keep children engaged. It is about a girl who talks about what it would be like if she were a parrot. Some things are alike and some things are different. This would be good when comparing and contrasting humans with animals. It is very funny. At the end of the book there are extension activities that tell how to make a parrot beak with construction paper and also an information page on what you need to know if you are getting a pet parrot.

[Afriendlylibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "For Creative Minds" section at the back of the book would be very helpful for educators, librarians and parrots.This section is also available for download from the If You Were a Parrot homepage and includes:

Parrot Fun Facts and Adaptations

Make-a-Beak Craft

Are you ready for a pet parrot?

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Keegan Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun illustrations of children with bird features and very accurate portrayal of parrots in my experience.

[AnnieM · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. I have liked many other Sylvan Dell books better. The illustrations, in order to capture the feeling of a parrot, they get a little creepy.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

2006, Katherine Rawson, Grades K-2, Animals-Birds

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun story where kids can imagine and see what they may look like if they were a parrot. Vivid and colorful illustrations are in this book.

[Preston Fordstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was quite Beaky!

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little story about what kind of physical features and behaviors children would have if they were parrots.

Nice - a little kooky - illustrations.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children pretend they are parrot. Cute Toddler and up and must be the right toddler group probably more preschool.