PARROTS OVER PUERTO RICO by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore with collages by Susan L. Roth

Bibliography

Roth, Susan L. and Cindy Trumbore.  2013.  Parrots over Puerto Rico.  Illustrated by Susan L. Roth.  New York: Lee and Low Books Inc.  ISBN: 978-1-62014-004-8

Plot Summary

Parrots over Puerto Rico reveals the history, decline, and successful conservation of the only parrot species native to any US territory told within the context of the history of Puerto Rico.

Critical Analysis

Roth and Trumbore’s exuberant story of the Puerto Rican parrots is difficult to categorize.  It reads a bit like a social history told in an informational storybook way.  And if non-humans could be included, I would be tempted to call it a biography of these beautiful birds!  This Sibert Award winning book is a wonderful addition to any children’s library.  The story of the Puerto Rican parrots is told alongside the history of Puerto Rico itself.  The book is organized chronologically to provide a clear historical picture with the parrots’ story told first on each page followed by the island’s story directly after and coinciding with the same time period.  Cleverly, Roth and Trumbore juxtapose facets of the parrots’ story with common elements in the nation’s history providing a seamless interconnectedness between the birds and their homeland.  For example, on the same page that describes how the parrots protect themselves from predatory hawks, discussion of how Spanish Puerto Rico built fortifications to protect the island from invasion by other European countries immediately follows.  As time and technology transformed how people lived on the island, these changes directly impacted the parrots’ habitat and their numbers began to fall.  In an imaginative turn, the book is displayed vertically, similar to a calendar’s pages.  This change in arrangement adds an element of height to the setting of the story: the high treetops in the rain forests of Puerto Rico.  This positioning also allows for the best display of Roth’s creative images.  The pages come alive with her richly colored and highly texturized fabric and paper illustrations.  

The text is written in a very narrative way that even includes onomatopoeia to imitate the parrots’ call and native language namesake.  The inclusion of helpful pronunciation guides for the Spanish terms makes this an even more friendly read-aloud non-fiction text.  The authors include an afterword with a great amount of information on the parrots themselves, and the brightly colored photographs bring an element of realism to their plight in case younger children might have mistakenly considered the story fiction. Additionally there is a timeline of important dates for both parrots and Puerto Rico.  The list of authors’ sources not only authenticates the book’s factual information but many of these sources are websites that students can use to further investigate Puerto Rican parrots, other bird species, and environmental conservation.  Parrots over Puerto Rico proves that informative books can be beautiful and engaging to even the youngest readers. 

Awards and Review Excerpts

Winner: 2014 Robert F. Sibert Medal

Winner: 2014 Américas Award

• Booklist: “A triumphant reminder of the inescapable connection between people’s actions and the animals in the wild.”
• Kirkus: “From the commanding cover illustration to the playful image on the back, simply spectacular.”
• Publishers Weekly: “A thoughtful and thorough examination of the ways human action can both help and harm animal populations.”

Connections

• Research and read about other kinds of parrots around the world; have students create an image (their choice of parrot type) using three dimensional materials.
• Have students research the effects of natural disasters on native wildlife.
• Read this book to students as part of a science unit on endangered animals or as part of a social studies unit on Caribbean geography and/or history.

Personal Reflections

Booklist describes this book as appropriate for children 2^nd- 5^th grades, but my five year old son loved this book.  The illustrations and unusual layout of the book really held his attention, and, for this very active little boy anyway, that is a real testament to the excellence of this book!