And now there are many! (Granny Sarah and the Last Red Kite - Malachy Doyle)

Member Name: kingfisher111

Product:	Granny Sarah and the Last Red Kite - Malachy Doyle
Date:	15/02/09 (284 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lovely strory about saving red kites

Disadvantages: none

My husband has had a lifelong love of birds and in particular he is a big fan of the red kite, especially since it has been successfully reintroduced into Oxfordshire and now it's often possible to see these magnificent birds circling overhead near our house in Berkshire. A few years ago you would never have seen one of these beauitful birds anywhere in England or Scotland and they were virtually wiped out in Wales too. Today it's a totally different story with the number of birds growing every year.

Every time we see a red kite my husband points it out to my daughters and they have become quite adept at spotting them too. Because of this, when I saw the title of this book on Sendit.com I thought it would be a great present for the girls to give their Daddy for Christmas as they would be able to share the story together.

The story tells of a little girl called Lowri who loves to go and visit her Granny Sarah and listen to the stories she has to tell. Her favourite is the one where when Granny Sarah was a small girl she helped to save the red kite from becoming extinct in Wales. I don't think that this is a true story although it's true that the red kite numbers did get incredibly low at this time.

Granny Sarah tells the story with Lowri occasionally asking questions. She tells of how red kites were hunted and killed and also that people liked to collect the eggs. One day a man came to Granny Sarah's father's farm and told them that there was a pair of red kites nesting in their tree and that it was the last breeding pair so they must keep an eye on them and make sure nothing happens. One day, while her father is at market, Sarah sees a boy climbing the tree after the eggs and singlehandedly stops him and chases him off the farm. Her father is pleased with her but a little bit cross too because she could have been hurt as well.

As a result of her actions, the red kites breed and rear their young. They do the same the following year and before long the red kite population is thriving - all thanks to Granny Sarah!

This is a wonderful story to share with young children and provides lots of things to talk about. It really has sparked my daughters' interest in the red kites but they also understand something about extinction and conservation. It's also a lovely book for demonstrating the strength of a relationship between a grandmother and her grandaughter and the conversations between the two are quite charming.

The level of text is very accessible for a five year old and the language is such that my emerging reader is able to tackle many of the words which makes her enormously proud. I also like the fact that a serious issue is brought to life through a story. There are also wonderful illustrations on every page that really show up the magnificence of the red kite.

As a bonus there is also a page of factual information at the back of the book which tells you more about red kites and the successful reintroduction in SCotland and England. I think my girls enjoy reading this almost as much as the story itself.

This excellent book is available on Amazon for £4.99.

Summary: A great book to share with young children