Monday, July 29, 2024

Starring Walter Pigeon by Suzanne Houghton

 

Walter Pigeon knows he is different. He loves movies and hopes to be a star one day. He spies a poster for a movie starring Walter Pigeon entitled Ace detective Jack Parker. Yay - he is in a movie! Walter assembles his kit and sets off to solve a mystery. Greer, a meek little pigeon, explains she has lost her laugh.

"Greer couldn't explain what it looked like ... 'but I know what it feels like ... It's like the tickly fizzy bubbles from a glass of lemonade ..."

"My laugh makes me heart light up and brightens my day."

"My laugh turns my frown upside down. It makes me tingle all over. My laugh makes me feel happy."

How will Walter ever solve the mystery of the missing laugh?

Adults will also enjoy the name choice - Walter Pigeon (1897-1984) was an actor who was "known for his "portrayals of men who prove both sturdy and wise".  There is also a fun visual twist on the last page.  I discovered this book (which is sadly now out of print but might be in some Australian school libraries) because my friend sets out fabulous book displays every week or two. This book was part of her pigeon books display and three borrowers took it home in June which is why she regularly displays her books so that borrowers can find them!

Here are a set of discussion questions to use with Starring Walter Pigeon. This is the first book by Australian author/illustrator Suzanne Houghton. Here are some of her other titles and you can see her work on Instagram:


Companion books:






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