Review: Adults, too, will like children's book on rare bird

Kakapo Rescue - Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Last April I had the pleasure of hearing Sy Montgomery talk about her book, "Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot" at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. The occasion was a meeting of the Washington Children's Book Guild at which Montgomery was presented with the Guild's nonfiction award for her body of work.

Since that time, "Kakapo Rescue," illustrated by award-winning photographer Nic Bishop, has gone on to win numerous honors, including the 2010 Sibert Medal for best informational book. Who wouldn't be interested in reading about a nearly extinct 9-pound flightless parrot whose wings smell like honey and who can only be found on two remote islands off the coast of New Zealand?

The kakapo population numbered less than 90 when Montgomery and Bishop were granted permission to spend 10 days researching their book. They traveled to remote Codfish Island where the kakapo are under the careful guardianship of the New Zealand National Kakapo Recovery Team. (And, by the way, that's "KAR-ka-poe," if you're wondering about pronunciation.)

These birds live to be 70 years old and are "likely" to live to be more than 100. Once numbering in the millions, they were considered nearly extinct by 1950, having fallen prey to (among other predators) cats and rats imported by European settlers.

Today, on Codfish Island, kakapo chicks are tended by "nest-minders," volunteers who serve as "nannies" to the birds. They sleep in tents pitched above the nests, which are usually constructed in holes or in a cavelike hollow. Each nest is rigged with a video camera and electronic devices, which cause a sort of doorbell to sound each time a kakapo parent leaves the nest.

The birds forage for food at night, leaving the chicks alone. Nest-minders watch over the chicks on TV monitors in their tents, making sure the adult bird returns safely. Each bird is equipped with a backpack that transmits a radio frequency that can be tracked with hand-held telemetry, which the nest-minders also have in their tents.

Montgomery and Bishop waited five years for a kakapo breeding season to occur. Kakapo do not breed every year. They do not even breed every other year. In fact, it is unknown how often breeding occurs. But, when the call came, the award-winning author and photographer were off on a journey to document and photograph what could be "one of the most thrilling conservation success stories in human history -- or one of its noblest but most tragic failures."

On Codfish Island, each chick's birth is greeted with exultation. Each bird's death is not only mourned, but also thoroughly investigated to guard against unknown threats to kakapo survival. Montgomery and Bishop provide a fascinating look at the effort to save these birds. The photographs are stunning and the text provides an excellent balance of scientific data and anecdotal information, while also provoking thoughts about nature's balance and humankind's relationship with animals.

Two of Montgomery and Bishop's earlier books received Sibert Honor awards, "The Tarantula Scientist" and "Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea." And Bishop, working as author and illustrator, won a Sibert Honor Award himself, for "Nic Bishop Spiders."

Targeted for a fourth- to sixth-grade audience, "Karkapo Rescue" should appeal to adults as well as young people. It's an amazing story and a fascinating look at the lives of dedicated scientists and volunteers determined to save a species threatened with extinction.