What the Macaw Saw by Charlotte Guillain illustrated by Sam Usher

Bookseller blurb: Told in gentle rhyming verse, this beautiful non-fiction picture book follows the story of a flock of colourful macaws as they live their lives in the Amazon rainforest. Through the voice of one of the macaws, we hear about the bounty of the rainforest, as well as the challenges they have faced – threatened by the destruction of their home through machinery and forest fires to make room for vast plantations. Still, there are some areas where the land is protected and they can live a life of freedom among the trees… perhaps in the future, humans will learn the true value of the forest once again Accompanying non-fiction pages at the end of the book include information on endangered macaws, the importance of the rainforest, and the causes of deforestation, as well as what we can do to help.

This book is a perfect example of a well-designed nonfiction book. Younger children will enjoy the first person narrative told in rhyme and then curious older readers can discover more from the four fact pages. 

In the wild Scarlet Macaws live from the south of Mexico, through central American countries such as Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras, to as far south as northeast Argentina in South America. Macaws are quite common in the Amazon rainforest but further north the bird is more endangered. 

A picture book that will link to classroom themes on protecting the environment, encouraging young children’s research skills to find out about endangered species, rainforests, birds around the world and to stimulate writing and discussions to persuade and inform on these topics. Just Imagine

What the Macaw Saw was published in 2022, and so I pleased to see it is still available for a really good price in 2026. This book could be a good addition to your library.

There are two other books in this series:

The name of the illustrator - Sam Usher caught my eye. I am a fan of his picture books:

Image source: Sam Usher

Publisher bio: Sam Usher studied illustration at the University of West England. His debut picture book Can You See Sassoon? was shortlisted for the Waterstones Prize and the Red House Children's Book Award. He lives in London with an ancient housemate, and when he's not holding a pen and wobbling at paper, you'll find him playing the piano, eating chocolate and trespassing.

Charlotte Guillain is the author of over 100 books. I need to say I had not heard of her - but now I will hunt out more of her books. She creates books with her husband Adam.