Kathleen Day

The Sweet Song of Rainbow Bird Kathleen Day

A mother, a father, a boy, a splendid cockatoo named Rainbow Bird, and an irrepressible labradoodle dog named Hooligan make up the cast of this charming and compelling story about the bonds between humans and their animals and what it means to be responsible for another. The parents and their young son know they must take responsibility for their beloved pets to keep them healthy and safe, and they all take their responsibilities very seriously. The bird and the dog live as full family members, loved and nurtured with happy routines, good food, and much fun and affection, until the afternoon the boy and his parents return home to find that through inadvertent carelessness on their part, their beloved Rainbow Bird has escaped and disappeared. Wretched imagining the perils he will face in the unfamiliar world, angry at themselves for their negligence, they, and Hooligan too, desperately long for their beloved Rainbow Bird, as they take steps to try to find him and lure him home. As days turn into weeks, they are forced to wonder if perhaps their love was in some ways keeping him a prisoner. This thoughtful and thought-provoking story enchants and moves, delights, and teaches as it explores the timeless themes of love, personal responsibility, consequences, grace, and gained wisdom. But don't imagine you know how the story of Rainbow Bird ends . . .