Parrot Tales

Our 30 Years with a Magical Bird

Debby Smith, Michael Steven Smith, Eric Hanson , Irene Pepperberg

$34.99

Hardback

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QTY:

English

OR Books
22 September 2022

Domestic animals & pets

Charlie Parker is an African Gray Parrot. He entered the life of Debby and Michael Smith three decades ago when, at the insistence of their young son, Eli, they brought him home from a downtown Manhattan bird shop. He has been an integral, and voluble, member of the family ever since.

Charlie's vocabulary is astonishingly diverse and colorful. He can be demanding, squawking imperiously ""Clean my cage"" or ""Want some water."" He can be brutally direct, warning an aggressive business associate who had been yelling at Debby ""I'm going to kick your ass, you sonofabitch."" He can be mischievous, making meowing noises to a neighbor's confused dog in the elevator.

Charlie is a survivor. He ended up recovering on an IV after the collapse of the World Trade Center filled the Smiths' apartment with toxic dust. He is often an entertainer, with a songbook that extends across ""Home on the Range"" to ""The Yellow Rose of Texas."" And most of the time he is affectionate, often hanging upside down against the side of his cage and demanding to be tickled.

In encountering Charlie's tales in this concise and charming book, we come to realize that parrots are intelligent and loving creatures, to an extent that, as the renowned avian scientist Professor Irene Pepperberg points out in her introduction, they cannot meaningfully be owned by humans but only enjoyed as companions.

By: Debby Smith, Michael Steven Smith
Illustrated by: Eric Hanson
Introduction by: Irene Pepperberg
Imprint: OR Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 127mm, Width: 127mm,
ISBN: 9781682193136
ISBN 10: 1682193136
Pages: 120
Publication Date: 22 September 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Debby and Michael Smith share a small farm house in the Catskill mountains with their son, Eli, and Charlie the parrot, who runs the household from his perch in the kitchen.

Reviews for Parrot Tales: Our 30 Years with a Magical Bird

“So well written, really funny —and about much more than just that kooky bird!” — Sarah Plant, composer “This book astounds me. The sum of this small African gray is way off the scale.” — Dee Dee Halleck, Chair, WBAI “The fun of being around Charlie is his spontaneity … you never know what he is going to say.” —Dr Irene Pepperberg from the Introduction.