Coo-Coo Kereru

Description

Review

Kids Books NZ ~ To celebrate kererū being chosen as the 2018 Bird of the Year, Terry Fitzgibbon has written and illustrated a creative non-fiction picture book to honour these native birds. He begins the tale with Maui hauling the North Island from the wild seas with kererū’s help.

We then learn where kererū live, what they eat, why they bob their head, how they fly and how they help spread native tree seeds around New Zealand. We also find out about their courtship, how they incubate their egg, who predate their chicks and eggs.

The last five pages give more information about the kererū including further online resources. Also running throughout the book on the left-hand-side of the page in glowing print is a rhythmic poem about the kererū, which younger children will enjoy having read aloud to them.

Terry Fitzgibbon has illustrated approximately 17 books for other writers, and written and illustrated two himself. He is an enthusiast for protecting Aotearoa’s wild native species. Terry has worked for Forest & Bird and the Department of Conservation. He recently illustrated ‘On the Brink’ due out end-March.