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

The kakapo is one of the strangest parrots found in the world. It is the rarest and heaviest parrot in the world, as well as flightless and night-active. At one point in time they were common all over New Zealand. But with the introduction of humans to New Zealand and the animals introduced by the humans, the population slowly dropped until there only a few were left. Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery is a book that describes the efforts made by conservationists to increase the kakapo population. Sy Montgomery and photographer Nic Bishop spent ten days with New Zealand's National Kakopo Recovery Team documenting the efforts being made to rescue these birds. The birds reside on Codfish Island, a small island off New Zealand's southern coast. Except for the volunteers who are working to save the kakapo, no humans are allowed on the island. At the beginning of the book, only eighty-seven kakapo exist on the planet. The conservationists hope this number will increase. Nic Bishop's photography is an added bonus to this interesting book. This book received the 2011 Sibert Medal, which is given annually by the American Library Association (ALA) to the author and illustrator of the most distinguished informational book published in the preceding year. If you enjoy Nic Bishop's photography in Kakapo Rescue, make sure you check out his books Frogs and Spiders. Recommended for readers who enjoy non-fiction and books about animals, especially for ages 9-12.