Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot by Sy Montegomery
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Copyright: 2010

Citation: Montgomery, S., & Bishop, N. (2010). Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

Literary Awards, Honors, and/or Nominations

1. 2011 Robert F. Sibert Medal Award: Winner
2. 2012 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award: Nominee

Reading Level:
Grade Level Equivalent: 7.4
Lexile: 950L
DRA: 60
Guided Reading: W

-Original description of the book
Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot is about the endangered Kakapo parrot in New Zealand and the mission of a fourteen person team to save the last of these rare birds. The story continues with the team taking turns watching over different Kakapo parrots and their chicks. This books shows the joy of learning that the endangered parrot is growing in number, and there is hope for the future of the species. Sy Montgomery does a fantastic job writing this book because it keeps the reader interested in the journal-like entries, and also includes extra facts alongside the pages, such as New Zealand’s isolation and relevant events that are added in like “A Night with Sirocco”. Nic Bishop uses extremely close-up and detailed pictures with captions about the people, animals, and what is occurring in the photos and places these photos in a strategic way that keeps the reader’s attention. This is such a great book for students to read because it is unlike the typical nonfiction and informational texts that they read.

-Corresponding Common Core State Standard
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.3: Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.5: Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.


-Suggested delivery
1) Read Aloud
2) Independent read

-2 electronic resources
1) Kakapo Resources
2) Sy Montgomery interviews

-3 teaching suggestions for grades 4-6
1) This book is perfectly written to encourage students to research endangered species in groups. Animals are becoming endangered sooner than expected, and it could hurt our planet and our ecosystems. Students can pick an animal and research information about them (i.e. What do they eat?, Where do they live?, Can we save them? If so how?, etc.). Students may work in pairs and present their findings to the class. Teachers can us the Scholastic Endangered animals: Student Research Unit plan which teaches three lessons about endangered animals and extinction, use New Zealand resources if students require them, use these ideas for an endangered species project, or use the BrainPOP Jr. Extinct and endangered species video/lesson to motivate students about endangered species.

2) Teaches can also use this story to teach students about Kakapo parrots. The Kakapo parrots are a rare breed of parrots that students will find interesting. People have kept them as pets, their feathers smell like honey, and can live to be at least 70 years old. Here are some broad Parrot facts that students can use along with Kakapo parrot facts. If desired, students can learn about conserving the Kakapo as well.

3) This books also provides the opportunity to have students compare and contrast the Kakapo parrot to other parrots. Using the fact hyperlinks above, students can use this parrot species comparison chart and write the differences between the two.

-Key vocabulary
1) Kakapo: the rarest and heaviest parrot in the world
2) Perverse: turned away from or rejecting what is good, right, normal, etc.
3) Infrared: producing or using rays pf light that can’t be seen
4) Downy: covered in small, soft feathers
5) Extinction: the process of becoming extinct; a coming to an end or dying out: the extinction of a species.
6) Breed: to produce (offspring); procreate; reproduce
7) Maori: the original people living in New Zealand
8) Superlative: surpassing all others
9) Predator: an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals
10) Raptor: a bird (such as an eagle or hawk) that kills and eats other animals for food
11) Airborne: in the air; moving or being carried through the air

-An inferential comprehension writing activity
Students will write two letters-one to Sy Montgomery and another to the Kakapo Recovery organization. In the letter to Sy, the students must include their thoughts, reactions, and/or feelings about the endangered species, what they thought about her book, and how or if they would like to help save these animals. In the letter to the Kakapo Recovery organization, the students must write an opinionated letter that discusses saving the endangered species and what they can do to create an awareness program and alert other about the Kakapo parrots.

-Before Reading Comprehension Activity: Students will use prior knowledge and background experiences to connect the author's writing with a personal picture. The teacher will begin to read Kakapo Rescue, share with the students the image that was created in their mind, and then discuss about the words that helped build that specific picture. Then, talk with the students about how making mental images can help them understand what’s happening in the story. Continue to read the story and then after a descriptive passage, ask a few students to describe what their picture looks like, feels like, smells like, etc. and which words helped them make their mental picture. When pictures differ, talk about why that could be.

-During Reading Comprehension Activity: Students can use the Kakapo Rescue vocabulary web chart to map out what the definition is, synonyms, antonyms, and more. When students come across a word that they don’t know, they can use this web to understand the word and use it in different way.

-After Reading Comprehension Activity: Teachers can give the students this Kakapo Rescue discussion guide and students could use it as they are reading through this book. It provides a chart of the different Kakapo parrots mentioned in the book, different facts about the Kakapo parrot, inferring what changed their population, the food chain, and more.