Coraline Watson brings her yellow-naped Amazon parrot to the library one night for the Birder's Club meeting, and Liddie takes an instant liking to the beautiful bird. Anne doesn't pay much attention to Coraline's wild stories about spies from a nearby chemical company, until the next morning, when the parrot, Lorenzo, appears at Liddie's window. Anne tries to return the bird, but Coraline's house is dark and empty, the front window is broken, and no one knows where Coraline has gone. Did she stumble across some actual intrigue? Are her theories true about the chemical company trying to steal a local bird refuge for its own use? Or has Coraline managed to abscond with the Birders Club funds?
Meanwhile, Liddie is taken with Lorenzo and wants a parrot of her own. There's even a cage in the attic it could live in. When Anne examines the cage, she realizes it was built for carrier pigeons. Did Aunt Edie own them? Anne's research leads to a fascinating discovery in the great anut's past.
Emily Thomas was born in London, and has lived there most of her life – except between the ages of 13 and 18 when she lived in Maldon in Essex on board a Thames Sailing Barge, with her family of seven assorted siblings and stepsiblings and two warring cats. Emily also works as an editor of many different kinds of books, including children’s and young adult fiction. She now lives in Brixton, with no pets and a lot of books.
“Coraline Watson brings her yellow-naped Amazon parrot to the library one night for the Birder's Club meeting, and Liddie takes an instant liking to the beautiful bird. Anne doesn't pay much attention to Coraline's wild stories about spies from a nearby chemical company, until the next morning, when the parrot, Lorenzo, appears at Liddie's window. Anne tries to return the bird, but Coraline's house is dark and empty, the front window is broken, and no one knows where Coraline has gone. Did she stumble across some actual intrigue? Are her theories true about the chemical company trying to steal a local bird refuge for its own use? Or has Coraline managed to abscond with the Birders Club funds? Meanwhile, Liddie is taken with Lorenzo and wants a parrot of her own. There's even a cage in the attic it could live in. When Anne examines the cage, she realizes it was built for carrier pigeons. Did Aunt Edie own them? Anne's research leads to a fascinating discovery in the great aunt's past.”
Series: Book #19 in the “Secrets of the Blue Hilly Library” series. Reviews of #1 Here, #2 Here, #3 Here, #4 Here, #5 Here, #6 Here, #7 Here, #8 Here, #9 Here, #10 Here, #11 Here, #12 Here, #13 Here, #14 Here, #15 Here, #16 Here, #17 Here, #18 Here, #20 Here, #21 Here, and #22 Here!
Spiritual Content- Prayers & Thanking God; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God & His creations; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, & Thanking God; Mentions of Bible reading & devotional books; Mentions of churches, church going, a reverend, & sermons; A few mentions of someone being a blessing & being blessed; A couple mentions of Bible studies; A mention of a miracle; A mention of a church’s youth group; A mention of a hymn; A mention of a Christian radio station.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’, a ‘stupid’, and five ‘dumb’s; A bit of eye rolling; All about many mentions of a missing person; Mentions of crimes, break-ins, burglaries, burglars/thieves, & criminals; Mentions of missing money, possibly being robbed, & stealing; Mentions of threats; Mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of wars; A few mentions of wondering if a person would commit suicide; A few mentions of fires; A few mentions of rumors; A few mentions of (not) cheating on a text or in a contest; A few mentions of a child misunderstanding that people are shooting birds; A couple mentions of a car accident & deaths; A couple mentions of a possibility of someone being kidnapped/abducted; A mention of hunters; *Note: Mentions of books, movie, & actors (Pride and Prejudice, The Birdman of Alcatraz, Burt Lancaster, John Wayne, & Roy Rogers); A few mentions of car brands; A few mentions of children’s books; A couple mentions of Disney & a song; A couple mentions of Hello Kitty; A couple mentions of an iPod.
Sexual Content- A couple mentions of an older lady commenting on others being unchaperoned or out too late with a boy; A mention of a first kiss; A mention of high school sweethearts.
-Anne Gibson P.O.V. of Anne 266 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Pre Teens- One Star New Teens- Two Stars Early High School Teens- Three Stars Older High School Teens- Four Stars My personal Rating- Three Stars While I enjoy listening to the birds’ songs outside in my backyard (or more particularly, our front yard), I can’t say I’m a “birder” (bird watcher). I did find this mystery to be interesting, but I enjoyed the parts about homing pigeons the most. It was a little slow at times, but that’s pretty normal for Guidepost mysteries.
This was my least favorite of the 19 books in the series. There was too much about birds and not enough about Anne and her children. Kiddie takes a liking to a bird and when the woman who owns it disappears Anne goes looking for her. It is all mixed up with the annual bird watching convention.
Anne's friend Mildred's neighbor, Coraline has a Yellow-Naped Amazon parrot, Lorenzo, who talks and takes a liking to Liddie. The next morning after Coraline had brought Lorenzo to the library he appears outside Liddie's bedroom window shouting danger and Coraline name. Anne and Mildred find Coraline missing and Anne is determined to find out what happened to her, and she takes in Lorenzo, to Liddie's delight, now Liddie wants a parrot. The reader will find out what Aunt Edie had to do with homing pigeons and will learn a little about bird watching. Coraline was helping set up the upcoming bird festival so Anne and Mildred help get things for the festival. Will Coraline be found before the festival, does Liam the young man who mowed her lawn have anything to do with her disappearance? What about the chemical company who ants a local bird refuge to build a plant there? Read this really good book to find out.
This is the 19th book in the SECRETS OF THE BLUE HILL LIBRARY series. This story concentrated on birders, people who have a passion for watching birds & noting the different kinds. It also dealt with a missing person.