A feather seems like such an insubstantial thing. Put enough of them together, though, and they can do something nearly miraculous. Three new picture books focusing on birds all see something different in things with feathers — aspiration, love and heartbreak — and all three have soaring words and illustrations that take their readers on amazing journeys.
___
“Pau: The Last Song of the Kaua’i ‘ō’ō” by Tony Piedra and Mackenzie Joy. (Ages 3-7. Candlewick Press. $18.99.)
The Hawaiian word “pau” means “finished” or “all done,” and that is the message of this beautifully illustrated paean to a now-extinct bird: Humans have both the power to end an animal’s existence, and the ability to change how they live on (and share) the planet to be sure its many lives continue.
Told as a deceptively simple timeline of change, the book begins with the birth of the Hawaiian islands and the arrival of plants and animals “on wind, on wings, and on waves.” Then the first humans come, bringing small changes, and more humans, and more changes, and over time, “more and more mean less and less. Less room for the ‘ō’ō. Less of their song filled the Island.”
And then there were none.
The story is devastating — but more information at the end of the book offers the lessons that can be learned from the loss of the ‘ō’ō.
Caroline Luzzatto has taught preschool and fourth grade. Reach her at [email protected].
This post was originally published on here
