Harry isn't very pleased when he inherits a parrot from Great-Uncle George, but Maddison is no ordinary parrot. Not only can he talk, but you can have conversations with him. He and Harry quickly become great friends - but then Maddison is stolen. Will he and Harry ever be reunited?
Dick King-Smith served in the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War, and afterwards spent twenty years as a farmer in Gloucestershire, the county of his birth. Many of his stories are inspired by his farming experiences. Later he taught at a village primary school. His first book, The Fox Busters, was published in 1978. He wrote a great number of children's books, including The Sheep-Pig (winner of the Guardian Award and filmed as Babe), Harry's Mad, Noah's Brother, The Hodgeheg, Martin's Mice, Ace, The Cuckoo Child and Harriet's Hare (winner of the Children's Book Award in 1995). At the British Book Awards in 1991 he was voted Children's Author of the Year. In 2009 he was made OBE for services to children's literature. Dick King-Smith died in 2011 at the age of eighty-eight.
Show moreHarry isn't very pleased when he inherits a parrot from Great-Uncle George, but Maddison is no ordinary parrot. Not only can he talk, but you can have conversations with him. He and Harry quickly become great friends - but then Maddison is stolen. Will he and Harry ever be reunited?
Dick King-Smith served in the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War, and afterwards spent twenty years as a farmer in Gloucestershire, the county of his birth. Many of his stories are inspired by his farming experiences. Later he taught at a village primary school. His first book, The Fox Busters, was published in 1978. He wrote a great number of children's books, including The Sheep-Pig (winner of the Guardian Award and filmed as Babe), Harry's Mad, Noah's Brother, The Hodgeheg, Martin's Mice, Ace, The Cuckoo Child and Harriet's Hare (winner of the Children's Book Award in 1995). At the British Book Awards in 1991 he was voted Children's Author of the Year. In 2009 he was made OBE for services to children's literature. Dick King-Smith died in 2011 at the age of eighty-eight.
Show moreDick King-Smith served in the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War, and afterwards spent twenty years as a farmer in Gloucestershire, the county of his birth. Many of his stories are inspired by his farming experiences. Later he taught at a village primary school. His first book, The Fox Busters, was published in 1978. He wrote a great number of children's books, including The Sheep-Pig (winner of the Guardian Award and filmed as Babe), Harry's Mad, Noah's Brother, The Hodgeheg, Martin's Mice, Ace, The Cuckoo Child and Harriet's Hare (winner of the Children's Book Award in 1995). At the British Book Awards in 1991 he was voted Children's Author of the Year. In 2009 he was made OBE for services to children's literature. Dick King-Smith died in 2011 at the age of eighty-eight.
Gr 2-5 Don't be confused by the title. Harry isn't angry, he's delighted, and so are we, to find that the African Gray parrot he's inherited from his eccentric American uncle has an extensive vocabulary and the independent intelligence to use it. The parrot Madison (Mad for short) is as likable and unique as King-Smith's other recent animal hero, Babe: the Gallant Pig (Crown, 1985). For a while, Harry and Mad keep the secret between them, and the animal/child conspiracy is as delightful as that of Ralph and Keith in Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle (Morrow, 1965). The secret is too good to keep, however, and Mad is soon delighting Harry's mother with his fastidious personal habits and his gourmet recipes and helping Harry's Dad with the crossword puzzles. When evil strikes in the form of a parrot-napping burglar, the agony of both boy and bird is palpable. This book will be fun as a read-aloud as well as a read-alone, and should prove popular. Sally T. Margolis, Town & Country Day School, Kensington, Md.
Harry's parents and friends think he's mad, because he acts out the rich fantasies of his 10-year-old imagination. And when his eccentric American uncle dies and leaves Harry a parrot named Madison (Mad), they're convinced of it. Mad is no ordinary parroting parrot; he's a linguist, a crossword-puzzle ace, a chess champ and a gourmet. The cozy English family agrees to keep Mad's extraordinary talents secretuntil a burglar kidnaps the bird. It seems as if Harry's Mad has been lost forever, but happily all ends well. Once again, King-Smith ( Babe: The Gallant Pig, Pigs Might Fly, etc.) has devised a believable, satisfying animal fantasy, with memorable characterizations and playful humor. Bennett provides lively, charming pen-and-ink drawings that are perfectly in keeping with the story; this is a sprightly read-aloud and a treat for the author's considerable following. Ages 812. (February)
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