Swifty

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The Super-fast Parrot

By: Stephanie Owen Reeder Illustrated by: Astred Hicks

eBook - October 2022 - eRetailers

Fly with Swifty on the swift parrot's challenging migration journey following the blossom trail.

A captivating story of the remarkable, but critically endangered, swift parrot – one of the fastest parrots in the world! + Full description

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.

Highly Commended, The MARION ACT Notable Book Awards 2023: Children's

- Short description

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Reviews

"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, 25 September 2022

"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, 3 October 2022

"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, 3 October 2022

"This is a fictional tale full of interesting facts aimed at 6- to 9-year-olds. [...] This book touches on migration and what to do with an injured bird, as well as the factors contributing to the Swift Parrot being critically endangered - predation, by sugar gliders and cats, and habitat loss."
Sue Lashko, Canberra Bird Notes 47(2), 2022

"I loved reading this book out loud - so many wonderful adjectives and descriptive verbs to show the reader how the Swift Parrot moves about from a nest hollow with her babies to a migration north during Winter and then back down south to Tasmania to breed during spring and summer."
Vanessa RyanRendall, We Can! (email newsletter), 31 January 2023

Details

Hardback | October 2022 | $ 24.99
ISBN: 9781486315918 | 32 pages | 250 x 250 mm
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Colour illustrations

ePDF | October 2022
ISBN: 9781486315925
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers

ePDF | October 2022
ISBN: 9781486315925
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers

ePUB | October 2022
ISBN: 9781486315932
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers

Features

Captivating story of one of the world’s fastest parrots, the critically endangered swift parrot.
Astred Hick’s illustrations beautifully capture the swift parrot's challenging migration journey from Tasmania to mainland Australia following the blossom trail.
Provides facts about the swift parrot, including tips for kids on how to spot one in their backyard, and how to help protect them.

Authors

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 and Ocean Animals.