Paisano, the Roadrunner

by Jennifer Owings Dewey

The author describes her experiences with a family of roadrunners who come to live near her house.

Library Binding

Published January 1, 2002

About the author

Jennifer Owings Dewey is a prolific writer and illustrator of children's books, most recently Antarctica: A Journal of Days. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. The author talks about the roadrunners that built a nest on her property and describes their habits, the building of the nest, the hatching of the babies and how they interact with her. The kids were enthralled to hear a real story about real roadrunners. They learned a lot and had fun at the same time. Paisano is the son hatched the first year. He ends up living in the house for 3 years before he mates and leaves.

Parts were a little gross (the eating of some lizards and snakes) but my boys enjoy stuff like that. The photos were great and helped bring the story to life.

At the end of the book there are some 'facts' about habitat, diet, etc., but really they'd already learned most of that through details of the story. The language was a bit stilted - it seemed like the author was trying to find the biggest words she could so it felt awkward at times. It took us two days of reading - we could have done it in 3 or 4 as it's rather long. Overall though a very fun read with a lovely personal touch.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book non-fiction for the study of a roadrunner and its family and
its traits as seen by a human whose yard they visit and set up a nest in. And
they come back another year. I found so much information about road runners to
help with a story I am verifying the facts for. This would interest lots of
3rd through 5th grade boys and some girls.