Pablo and Birdy by Alison McGhee illustrated by Ana Juan

"I don't want any more fake stories ... I want my real story, the whole story. I only know the part that begins here, when we came floating in on the waves."

Before you read this book you might like to listen to Buena Vista Social Club - Chan Chan because this is the song that forms the background of Pablo's life with Emmanuel. 

As a tiny baby Pablo washed up on the beach of an island named Isla. The baby was in a small blow-up swimming pool with a lavender parrot. Fast forward and Pablo is turning ten. That day he arrived there had been a tropical storm with strong winds. The local weather reporter calls these 'the winds of change' and they haven't been seen on Isla for nearly ten years. According to local legend 'winds of change mean fortune lost or fortune gained'.  Pablo is about to turn ten. It is predicted the winds are coming. Pablo is upset with all the speculations about his origins. This birthday he is questioning everything, and he wants to know the truth. 

Pablo's best friend is Birdy. She is a parrot who washed up with him all those years ago and she is his protector, but she cannot fly and she cannot 'talk'. The tourist industry of Isla is built around another legendary parrot called the Seafaring Parrot or Seafarer. 

"Reported sightings of Seafarers were very rare, and only when the winds of change were blowing. ... But the most unusual trait of the Seafaring Parrots, according to legend, had to do with sound. Sounds exist in vibrations ... Humans with their unexceptional ears, could hear a sound at the moment it was made, and thereafter only in memory. But not the remarkable Seafaring Parrot. For them, all sound lived on for all eternity ... at any given moment a seafarer could hear and reproduce all the sounds ever made. The laughter of everyone who ever lived. The cries of everyone who ever lived."

Could Birdy be a Seafaring parrot? If she is, then she will be able to tell Pablo the true story of where he came from—of who tied him so lovingly and safely to that raft? But, if she is, that also means the second part of the Seafarer myth is true…that Seafaring Parrots will, eventually, fly away. Simon and Schuster

There are deeper themes in this book about migration and home and belonging:

"Emmanuel, why did you family leave Cuba? ... 'For the same reason that most people leave their hoe, Pablito ... To make a new life somewhere.' 'But why?' Padlo persisted. 'Why would anyone want to leave their home?' ... 'It's not always a question of want, my boy. Countries can be like families. Sometimes they argue with other countries, or the people in one country argue with each other. Things turn out bad. Life can feel impossible, whether because there's no way to make a living or there's war or, for whatever reason, they don't feel free."

I also loved the parallel story of the stray dog that Pablo eventually rescues. It always warms my heart when a dirty tangled haired stray is washed and fed and cared for. Alison McGhee gives her readers little fragments of the back story of this little dog but at the end we never really know how he came to be on Isla and how is arrival is at exactly the right time for Pablo.

A quiet, memorable, fantastical tale beautifully complemented by Juan’s illustrations.  Kirkus Star review

Above all things, this is a story with heart. Mountains of it. Pablo and Birdy are impossible not to love, and the townspeople are natural neighbors, which one wishes they could have. Pablo's search for answers, his attempts to save Birdy and the ache of discovering the truth make this an unforgettable tale. Bookworm for Kids

Here are some comprehension and vocabulary questions.

I read so many books one of my strategies to keep their plot lines clear in my mind is by try to avoid reading books with similar plot lines one after the other. With Pablo and Birdy I broke this rule - albeit unintentionally. My post yesterday talks about The What on Earth Institute of Wonder by Lisa Nicol. That book has so much in common with Pablo and Birdy:

• Both stories have a child who has be sent a special bird
• The child can communicate with their bird but others cannot
• The bird in both stories is rare and somehow living in the wrong place
• Spoken or unspoken the bird offers wisdom
• Both contain specific pieces of music
• Themes of rescue and belonging underpin both stories

I picked Pablo and Bird up at a charity book sale. It was published in 2017. It is still available. I probably won't keep this hardcover copy because I noticed it has become a little mouldy which is a shame. 

Companion books:

The Summer we found a Baby

Jubilee

Foxlight

The What on Earth Institute of Wonder by Lisa Nicol

Sal's dad has left. Mum, in her grief, is now focused on the moon and not her family. Roy, the younger brother, is sure the end of the world is coming very soon and so he has been preparing his survival gear. Sal has one main friend but he is a bird - a Kakapo named Hector. He just arrived in her room one day and somehow Sal can understand and speak to him - it's a mysterious gift. Then added to all of this now an elephant has arrived. A real elephant. She is huge and totally out of place in this small town. 

"She was a she, and probably around sixteen years old. Surprisingly, though, other than that, the 'experts' had little to add. Her arrival in Larry had them all completely flummoxed. This was not the type of elephant found in circuses or zoos ... These elephants were only found in the most remote and inaccessible jungles of the Congo Basin in central Africa."

The kids really want to rescue the elephant. Roy knows there is one large space in town where they could 'hide' her. It belongs to the post office and it is where the postman named Mr Longbottom lives. There are problems with this idea. Mr Longbottom is a thief, and he hates children but all the adults in the town like and respect him. Also how do they keep the elephant calm? It turns out she likes the same music as Sal's friend Bartholomew. Music like Nina Simone and also all kinds of jazz and this is the music Bartholomew plays everywhere on his boombox. But then the people of the town discover the elephant and Larry is a town that has always been down on its luck. Everyone can see ways to make money out of the elephant but Sal and her friends know all of these ideas are cruel. The time has come to rescue the elephant and take her somewhere safe - but how do they do this? Where can they take her? And what if they get caught?

"Sal cursed herself, too. For breaking into the warehouse in the first place and dragging everyone into all of this. For letting Bartholomew drive without a license. And Roy ... So much for looking after her little brother. In the back of a police car, aged eight-and-a-half? It would be hard to classify that as good care in anyone's book. ... She had failed, all right."

"Bartholomew ... He was probably in the most trouble. After all, he was the one at the wheel. He was the oldest. He was meant to be responsible. While he might have been trying to save the elephant, in doing so he'd endangered all their lives. ... But spending time with the elephant, seeing her love of music. He didn't need a book to know she felt the same things in her heart that he did."

About three quarters of the way through this book I realised I had not discovered any references to the book title. I need to tell you - don't skip ahead - this discovery does not come until the final chapter. It is a neat way of tying up the threads of the story and adding to the happy ending. 

Click on these review comments for more plot details:

Sal doesn’t just rescue an elephant. She saves her family, her friends, and her town in the process and readers cannot help but be alerted to the precarious situation of many of the world’s wildlife. With adventure, family life, humour and drama a-plenty, I heartily recommend this for your readers from around Year 4 upwards. Kids' Book Review

Lisa Nicol’s whimsical way with words is becoming the stuff of legend. Her narratives are an intoxicating mix of wonderment, cheek and incredible heart; a strange combination but one that makes her middle grade novels fulfilling and memorable. The What on Earth Institute of Wonder perpetuates this premise while managing to incorporate an African forest elephant and a New Zealand Kakapo into the same sentence, never mind the same Kombi van! And yes! I knew I was in for something special once a Kombi was mentioned. Dimity Powell

If you are looking for a fast paced, action-packed adventure book, then this is not for you. If you want a gentle and genuine book about hope and the enormous spirit that both human and animal-kind have to offer, then this is the perfect book for you. Storylinks

This delightful book from Lisa Nicol traverses a magical, animal-filled landscape, that brings anxieties and fears to life in a gentle way, that allows readers from ages eight and older to see that it is okay to be worried, that not everything is perfect. It gives a voice to the kids that might not necessarily fit in. Sal and Roy do things a little differently to other kids, and that’s what makes them special – what gives them life. The Book Muse

I picked up The What on Earth Institue in a bookshop because I recognised the name Lisa Nicol. The What on Earth Institute of Wonder was published in 2021. I wonder how I missed it and I am surprised it did not make the 2022 CBCA Book of the Year Younger Readers Notables list.  I read this on the shelf talker label in Gleebooks:

I could not love this book any more! @lisanicolauthor has once again blown our minds with a story so fabulously bonkers and so beautifully written that I had to just lie in a dark room for a good while and appreciate what I had just read…. definitely in the running for one of my favourite books of the year! Rachel Robson Gleebooks

I loved her previous book:

Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth

Companion books:

The Great Elephant Chase

The Magician's Elephant

The Elephant in the Room

Singing with Elephants

Tua and the Elephant

The Girl who Stole an Elephant

The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo illustrated by Julia Sarda

Begin here with this audio sample from chapter one. When you listen, you will hear the delicious language choices used by master storyteller Kate DiCamillo - beguiling brilliance, the porcelain of the skink, overstuff sofas strewn with cushions of green and gold, the room was fille to overflowing with light almost as if someone were ... pouring molten gold, perpetually occupied. 

Marta and her mother live in the attic of the Hotel Balzaar.

"And on the dresser was her mother's brush, and beside that was an envelope that was stained and worn smooth from handling. Marta's mother's name was written on the envelope - Elena Buchelli. And below her name was Marta's name - Marta Buchelli. The exact words Marta's father had written on the envelope were: And Marta Buchelli too, of course. How Marta loved those words: of course. Of course."

"It had been over a year since they had heard anything from her father. In the meantime, Marta and her mother had moved from one place to another, trying to survive."

 There are hints in the story that her mother, who works as a maid, is not really allowed to have her child living with her. Her father is missing. All Marta has that worn out letter. Almost every day her mother instructs Marta:

"You must be quiet, quiet, Marta. Like a mouse. Do not let yourself me charmed ... 'Say you understand, Marta,' said her mother. 'I understand,' said Marta. But she did not understand. She did not understand at all."

Marta lives in a small world. There is their attic room and the one hundred and twenty-eight stairs, the hotel lobby with a clock that has a cat chasing a mouse and a painting which seems to have one wing that looks like an angel. The hotel doorman Norman does acknowledge and talk to Marta but the receptionist Alphonse pretends she does not exist. Then one day a mysterious guest arrives at the hotel. 

"Right before the clock struck noon, there was a commotion in the lobby. A gust of cold air entered, and with it came an old woman dressed in red - red shoes, a red hat and a red dress. She was leaning on a cane, and on her should there perched a massive green-feathered parrot."

Marta will now break all her mother's rules because the old woman, who calls herself a Countess, invites Marta to come to her room. Marta meets her parrot named Blitzkoff. The Countess says he can speak but Marta never hears him instead the Countess tells Marta a series of six stories. At first it seems these stories are unconnected, and they all seem to be unresolved, but Marta listens carefully and you, the reader, will read carefully, because there are connections that can be made here, and the final untold story will be the most important one of all. 

Readers, too, will enjoy piecing together the connections among the stories and will be encouraged to seek deeper truths about people and the world around them. ... A delightful, thoughtful escape to a magical world. Kirkus

I am not sure I would use The Hotel Balzaar for a classroom study - it feels like such a personal reading experience but if you skim through these teachers notes from the publisher you will gain more insights into the plot and you will see some of the glorious art by Julia Sarda. If you are looking for a present for a keen reader aged 9+ pop this book onto your list - the hardcover edition with a dust jacket would be a very special gift. 

The setting for this heartfelt story is not specified but it feels like a European city and a time perhaps fifty or more years ago. This is the second of a planned set of three books or novellas called Norendy Tales. I previously talked about The Puppets of Spelhorst. The third book will be released next year. I love the way each book features a different illustrator - book one Julie Morstad; book two Julia Sarda. I wonder who will illustrate the third Norendy Tale? Every school and public library should add this set of books to their collection alongside EVERY book by Kate DiCamillo (you probably already know I am a huge fan). Here is a long video interview where you can hear Kate talk about her book. Read this review.

The Puppets of Spelhorst

The Hotel Balzaar uses the Countess for her storytelling prowess, consolidating all stories into her character. The Puppets of Spelhorst, in contrast, integrates a multitude of characters to tell stories. Even with these two different story telling mechanisms, the story within a story pattern is consistent between the two Norendy Tales. Both feature a plot arc stretched out from story to story to story, all culminating in one fell swoop with heartwarming endings. This strategy is extremely tricky to execute, particularly for the short format of middle grade reading material. The ease with which DiCamillo whips out these two editions reinforces why DiCamillo is the supremely successful queen of this genre ... In both of these books the illustrations are abundant and add intrigue and depth to the telling of the story; both the narrative and the images pull equal weight. Both titles, it’s safe to say, are true reader delights. New York Journal of Books