Cooper’s Book Report

This month’s book is Fireman Sam by Rob Lee.

Norman is visiting Trevor to see his new budgie, Busby. They are so busy playing with Busby that they don’t notice Rosa the cat wander in through an open door. But Busby does, and off he flies through the door.
Norman hops on his skateboard to search for the little green parakeet. Meanwhile, at the fire station, Firefighter Penny and Fireman Sam are practicing for the car cutting competition.
Norman has managed to get himself into trouble trying to capture Busby at the scrapyard. He has slipped and trapped himself under a pipe.
Will Norman be saved? Will Busby find his way home?

Cooper loves happy endings. Busby was very clever leading the firefighters to Norman, who were able to cut Sam free and reunite Busby with Trevor.
Cooper thought this was a cute little story. The illustrations (by The County Studio) were fun and colorful.
She thinks that the book should be renamed Fireman Busby, because Busby is the one who saved that day.

Cooper’s Book Report

This month’s book is My Parakeet Wears a Sweater by Rebecca J. Raymond – illustrated by Vanessa L. Malone.

This book showcases the fashions of a little parakeet. She has looks for every season and occasion. The stylish budgie shows off her sweaters, ponchos, scarves, sandals and even a tutu.
Soon the writer’s other pets are dressed up, overalls for the bunny, boots for the dog and a scuba suit for the goldfish.

Cooper thought this was a very cute book. She liked that the budgie had outfits for every occasion. She thought it was nice that the budgie let the other pets show off their clothes, even though she was the star of the story.
Cooper thinks she should have some more budgie fashions herself and that her human needs to take her shopping.

Cooper’s Book Report

This month’s book is Budgie by Joseph Coelho (illustrated by David Barrow).

*Spoilers below!

After a run in with his cranky neighbor, Mr. Buxton, Miles finds a lost budgie outdoors and brings him home. A downstairs neighbor has a cage with water, seeds and a mirror for the budgie. Miles names him Pippin. After a brief flight around the kitchen, Pippin settles into his new home.
Sadly, Pippin is not well the next day, and passes away before they can take him to the vet.

Miles and his family give Pippin a funeral with flowers. Miles writes a tribute and his sister Mary draws a picture of him.
Later, Miles finds out that Pippin belonged to Mr. Buxton (and was named Lemon). Lemon flew out the window and was lost. Mr. Buxton lets Miles know that Lemon was an older budgie and had a happy life. They bond over the tiny budgie and comfort each other through their tears.

Cooper thinks this is a lovely book, but warns readers to have some tissues ready. She was sad that little Pippin/Lemon passed away. But she was consoled that he had a long, happy life. She was glad that both Miles and Mr. Buxton appreciated what a wonderful budgie he was.
Cooper loved the illustrations by David Barrow and the descriptive vocabulary by British poet and Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho. The book’s end papers have some budgie facts and a spot the difference, which will be fun for young readers.
Budgie is a lovely little story that teaches children about grief, acceptance and understanding.

Cooper’s Book Report

Cooper’s book this month is Never Steal a Cockatiel by Edie Claire.

This is the 9th book in a mystery series about Leigh Koslow.

Someone is snatching up the beloved pets of Avalon. As the daughter of a veterinarian whose clients are the victims, Leigh tries to uncover who is behind the pet nappings. Will Leigh, with the help of her large family and friends, be able to solve the mystery?

Cooper enjoyed this book. She was happy that the no pets were harmed and that any kidnapped pets were reunited with their humans. She liked that Zeus the cockatoo left his mark on the kidnapper, but would have liked to have read more about Opie the cockatiel. She hopes that the next book will be about a budgie (preferably, a blue one). Maybe, Never Cheat a Parakeet… Would definitely be a bestseller!

Cooper’s Book Report

Cooper’s book this month is Super Budgie a Bunty comic book.

Trixie Taylor’s budgie, Sam, is attacked by Bruce the dog. Her next door neighbor, Brian, takes Sam to the lab where he works to see if he can help the little bird.
When Brian bring Sam back, he’s a little… different. Sam is now a bionic budgie!

Sam now has super strength, a super budgie brain and can talk. But his new superpowers have come at a cost. Spies are trying to kidnap Sam and steal secrets from Brian’s lab. Soon, Sam, Brian, Trixie and her parents have to figure out how to thwart the bad guys and save the day.

Cooper enjoyed reading a comic book for a change. She only nibbled on the pages once. Her favorite part of the book was when Sam tried to help with chores, but ended up making a mess. She also thought it was amusing when Sam pulled Trixie on her bike (at 90 miles an hour on the freeway) and dropped big bags of bird seed on the bad guys.
Cooper wishes she has super powers, too! I wonder what she would do with them…

Cooper’s Book Report

This month’s book is Petey Parakeet by Crosby Bonsall – illustrations by Sunny B. Cook.

Danny brings home a little green and yellow parakeet he names Petey. He takes very good care of Petey, giving him fresh water, fruit, a mirror and toys to play with. He and his friends spend time with Petey and teach him how to talk. Petey picks up lots of words and phrases from the television and radio. Unfortunately, he uses them at inopportune times, irritating Danny’s father and offending Mrs. Parks, their next door neighbor.
One day a little dog tries to steal the pies Mrs. Parks has cooling on a window ledge. Will Petey save the day and say the right thing at the right time?

Cooper thought this was a cute, little book with charming illustrations. She was happy to see a blue budgie make an appearance (Mrs. Park’s budgie, Pretty Baby). She was not surprised that Petey used the right words to save the day. Budgies are very clever. Her favorite part of the book was when Petey told uppity Mrs. Parks to, “Go soak your head.”

Cooper’s Book Report

This month’s book is Broadway Bird by Alex Timbers (illustrated by Alisa Coburn).

Little Louisa is a green budgie who has big dreams of becoming a performer. But her audition leads to laughter – she is told she is too tiny to make it big on Broadway. Is she destined to be a “basic city bird” like her pigeon friend, Sal?
Will Louisa give up her dream, or will the advice of a former dancing flamingo encourage her to try again?

Cooper absolutely loved this book. The illustrations are humorous and beautifully detailed – from the rooms in the pigeon’s house to Iguana Menzel’s buggy bon bons. The book is filled with fun animal references to Broadway shows and actors. Cooper was inspired by the book’s message that we are perfect as we are, and we should work hard to achieve our goals. She was happy that Louise never gave up and ended up fulfilling her dream (and inspires others to do so as well).

Author Alex Timbers has three budgies at home (one is pictured in the author’s note). Cooper thinks he and Alisa Coburn did a wonderful job showcasing the tiny budgie in a big way.

Cooper’s Book Report

This month’s book is Training Pablo by Wendy Graham (illustrated by Peggy Mozley).

Colin’s mother gives him a little green and yellow budgie as a birthday gift. Colin names him Pablo and reads all about training pet parakeets. Soon Pablo is stepping up, playing games and eating from Pablo’s hand. When Colin whistles a tune, Pablo will fly to Colin and perch on his shoulder. Colin hopes that soon Pablo will start talking.

Pablo and his mother are very careful about keeping the windows and doors closed while Pablo is out. Until one day they aren’t and Pablo flies out the door. Will Colin be able to get Pablo back?

Cooper enjoyed this little book. She was happy that Colin and his mother were able to get Pablo back home. Losing a budgie would be scary! Pablo even talked at the end of the book, showing how clever he was.
Cooper’s favorite part of the book was when Pablo flew down to join Colin at dinner and stole a bite of his carrot.

Cooper’s Book Report

This month’s book is Salvador and Mister Sam, A Guide to Parakeet Care by Gail Gibbons.

Sonia’s friend Salvador has two budgies, Sue and Sidney. His birds can do tricks, but they can’t talk. Sue and Sidney soon have a clutch of baby budgies, and Salvador promises Sonia she can have one as a pet. While they wait for the babies to be old enough to leave their parents, Salvador teaches Sonia about budgies and how to care for them. Once Sonia has a cage, she picks out her budgie and takes him home.
Sonia names her bird Mister Sam and teaches him tricks. When Salvador comes over for a visit, he is surprised that Mr. Sam can not only do tricks and step up, but he can talk, too!

Cooper liked this book. She enjoyed the fun illustrations and thought the story was a great way to teach children about their pet budgies. The book was published in 1975, so some of the information was a bit outdated (blue ceres mean male, feed your budgie gravel, budgies can’t overeat). But there were a lot of good tips for keeping your budgie healthy and happy (roomy cage, lots of safe toys).
Cooper liked all the tricks the budgies could do, especially wearing a bell as a hat. She wasn’t thrilled that Sonia thought baby budgies were ugly – she hopes that Mister Sam will poop on her for that comment.
Cooper also loved that the author photo in the book shows Gail Gibbons with her pet budgie.

Cooper’s Book Report

This month’s book is Pets by Anna Ratzesberger (Illustrated by Elizabeth Webbe).

It’s Pet Day at school. Miss Kelly tells the class that they can bring their pets and share how they care for them.
The children bring in a variety of pets – a puppy, a kitten, a canary, a hamster, a turtle and a goldfish. Billy tells the class about his Shetland pony.
Little Peggy is home with a cold, but she calls the class to tell them about her parakeet, Pretty Boy. She tells them all about him and how she taught him to talk. She even puts Pretty Boy on the phone so he can speak to the class.
Miss Kelly asks the boys and girls who they think gave the best talk. Of course, Peggy and Pretty Boy win. As a prize, Miss Kelly lets her duckling spend the night at Peggy’s house.

Cooper enjoyed this little story. She loved that Pretty Boy looks just like her. She liked hearing about the different types of pets and how the children loved and cared for them. She thought the illustrations were sweet and was thrilled that the budgie was voted best speech. Cooper thought it would be fun to have a duckling spend the night.