You know what letting go of someone you love is like…
Talk about a universal subject! Hearing someone else’s story of love and loss brings our own experience—real or feared—to the surface.
This week’s book recommendation does a beautiful, moving job with this theme: Pablo and Birdy, by Alison McGhee.
If you could use a good cry, Pablo and Birdy will bring it on.
The summary:
Pablo, nearly ten, has many questions about his origins and how he arrived at Isla as a baby, but finding the answers may mean losing his lifetime companion, Birdy the parrot.
I love the dedication page: “For all those who build new lives in distant lands.”
There are other things about the book that made me warm to it:
I liked the vivid descriptions of Pablo’s life. I imagined a beach town on a Florida island, like the Keys, although the book doesn’t name anywhere that specific. I could hear the music, feel the sun, sand, and the caress of the breeze in the palms, taste the baked goods, see the bright feathers of the talking birds.
It has shared themes with the Piper Pan books: outsiders making a place for themselves, the power of friendship, the power of love and compassion.
Good read-aloud book, or read alone. Its pace is gentle; you won’t be swept up in suspense, but your heart will open to the story and its people, taking in the richness.
By the way, in spite of the tears, the ending is right, and plenty happy. Enjoy Pablo and Birdy!
Good Reading to You!