Swifty

Description

Age range 6 to 9 A captivating story of the remarkable, but critically endangered, swift parrot - one of the fastest parrots in the world! Swifty grows from a hatchling to a fledgling in the blue-gum forests of Tasmania. She is then ready to make a challenging migration, following the blossom trail across Bass Strait to mainland south-eastern Australia. Swifty faces many threats and dangers, but she must return home. Will she make it? Fly with Swifty in this beautifully illustrated story, and learn how to spot a swift parrot and help protect them. Reading level varies from child to child, but we recommend this book for ages 6 to 9.

Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder is an award-winning children's author who writes about history and the environment. She is a recipient of the CBCA Book of the Year Award and the Laurie Copping Award for Distinguished Service to Children's Literature. Astred Hicks is an award-winning book designer, illustrator and author. Her illustrations have appeared in books shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards, and highly commended in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. Astred was also the illustrator of A Hollow Is a Home (CSIRO Publishing, 2019) and Ocean Animals (CSIRO Publishing, 2020).

"Swifty is beautifully illustrated by Astred Hicks. There is so much to learn in her illustrations from the fluffy down of newborn parrots to their feasting on lerps on leaves and sticky nectar from gum blossoms. The information pages at the back of the book, help to unlock the open questions in Swifty. There are also excellent teacher notes at the CSIRO publishing website. We have reviewed several of their books lately and the quality is high with all of them. Highly recommended." -- Susanne Gervay * CBCA Reading Time * "Illustrator Astrid Hicks, also an award-winner, brings colour, joy and so much heart to the pages. Her illustrations are funky and detailed, and Swifty's rainbow plumage shines bright one very page. With detailed teachers notes to accompany it, this book is great for classrooms keen to learn about Australian wildlife. But it's equally brilliant as a bedtime story, with or without the extra notes at the back... Joyful, inspiring and engaging, Swifty the Super-fast Parrot is a winner." -- Shaye Wardrop * Kids' Book Review * "Swifty is another wonderful book that provides younger readers with the opportunity to learn about one of Australia's critically endangered birds through an engaging story. The stunning endpapers and glossy illustrations by Astrid Hicks perfectly complement the text and offer the reader so much to explore on each page." -- Kathryn Beilby * ReadPlus *