*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.

From Sarah Harris, author:

Basically the answer to our shipping issue is that Amazon UK has no stock as their stock comes from Australia and is not being sent because it is non-essential.
Amazon US apparently is always later with Australian titles and it will not be available until January 2021.
Booktopia does not send overseas only within Australia and NZ.

Article inside includes an extract from the book Budgerigar: How a Brave, Chatty and Colourful Little Aussie Bird Stole the World’s Heart by Sarah Harris and Don Baker.

Alice gets a budgie for her seventh birthday. Her father names their new pet Dogbird -because he doesn’t talk. What he does is bark like the family’s three Labradors. The dogs and Dogbird cause a commotion with all their barking – even disturbing the neighbors. Things quickly escalate and Alice and her friend decide to set Dogbird free. This does not go well when wild birds chase poor, frightened Dogbird. Luckily, he is able to fly safely home.
The family decides that Dogbird should go live with Grandma. Grandma is thrilled with Dogbird. She renames him Bluey, and he even learns a few phrases. Not only is Bluey a wonderful companion, but because of his barking, he is an excellent guardbird.

Cooper thought this book was terrific. She liked the illustrations (by Tony Ross). She was nervous when the dogs knocked over Dogbird’s cage, and even more so when the wild birds were attacking Dogbird. She was glad the book had a happy ending and Dogbird/Bluey ended up with a new name and someone who loved him.