El loro avión The parrot plane

Book Details Title: The Parrot Plane Sub-Title: El loro avión ISBN: 9781617645952 Available: 2011 Publisher: Palibrio Genres: Children’s Bilingual Authors: Magdalena Benavides This is an enchanting bilingual tale of a parrot named Boro who believes that he is less than perfect. His feet and wings are too big and he feels ugly. However, Boro soon discovers that he has a gift to share with other animals in his lake habitat. When Boro feels that he is being taken advantage of, he makes the difficult decision to leave his beloved home, but an accidental meeting with a messenger pigeon names Seventeen, gives Boro hope once again that maybe he can return to his home and fix his problems. The Storyline is clearly written and enriched with excellent characters that children will relate to throughout the story. This tale entwines feelings of wanting to belong, finding your strength, solving your problems so as to make everyone happy in the end. Children will also relate to the need to please their friends so much they are willing to work too hard to gain their approval and the problems that may occur in the long run. The Parrot Plane can be used in many instructional ways for children as well. The animals that live in the lake habitat (science), friendship, the need for rules, listening to the opinions and experiences of others, and finally, facing your fears and making a stand, are all literary devices used in this tale that can be used to teach children social and academic skills. Of course in the end, the morale of the story is having something to offer your friends and community is excellent, but make sure you set your own rules and don’t let anyone take advantage of your generous charity. I would recommend this story for children in grades K-3, for character study in feelings, the need for community and rules. Reviewed by Dreamweaver (Lydia Ferrari) for Night Owl Reviews