When the Cassowary Pooped, A Tale of New Guinea
A delightful and intriguing story introducing the shy Cassowary, one of the world's largest endangered birds whose feeding habits help create tropical rain forests for some of the world's oldest, most unusual and most endangered animals. Written in appealing poetic form for children aged 4 to 8 by Tamara Montgomery, with a short post-story section on animals by Jodi Parry Belknap, it is beautifully illustrated by Joseph D. Dodd.
As Cassowary treks through the uplands in New Guinea he dines on colorful fruit—red rambutan, orange papaya, yellow mango, green pandanus, blue quandong and purple Cassowary plum—and leaves behind colorful seed-filled poop to transform barren landscapes into lush rain forests. The result is a surprise ending for young readers. The big-eyed Tarsier, the high-jumping Tree Kangaroo and the giant Alexandra Butterly are among the extraordinary animals who find homes in the habitat he creates.
Directions and patterns for creating a Tissue Box Theatre young readers can use to present a puppet performance of When the Cassowary Pooped may be downloaded from the Teachers link on CalabashBooks.com. Education-based activities for teachers and links to images and supplemental information may also be downloaded.
Tamara Montgomery is a full professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where for more than three decades she has directed the graduate program in Youth Theater, Creative Drama and Puppetry. She is the author of seven books for children. This is her third Calabash Book for young children about the endangered animals and cultures found in Pacific Rim nations and islands.
Jodi Parry Belknap owns Honolulu-based Belknap Publishing and Design. A graduate of Barnard College, Ms. Belknap is a former teacher and holds an MA in Youth Theater from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has traveled extensively throughout the Pacific and the Far East. This is her fourth book for young children
Joseph P. Dodd is a full professor and Director of Design for the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he received his MFA in Theater. This is his third Calabash Book. His first, Kraken-ka, the Komodo Dragon, A Tale of Indonesia, was honored in 2008 for Excellence in Illustration by the Hawaii Book Publisher’s Association.
$16.95
isbn978-0-9723420 1-8
hardcover, 12.25 x 9, 36 pp.
Available at fine bookstores in the islands, on CalabashBooks.com and on Amazon.com.
