Ella (Post 124)
Ella (1997), is one of three little books about Laura and her elder sister Alice. In this one, Laura goes to visit Grandpa on her own. She's holding a big juicy apple, and when she arrives at Grandpa's house Grandpa's parrot, Ella, frightens her. Laura assumes Ella is attacking her, but Grandpa patiently explains that Ella just wants a piece of Laura's apple.
The illustration shows a cockatoo, and although cockatoos are parrots (whereas not all parrots are cockatoos) in my experience cockatoos are much less interested in the apple itself than in its seeds. We've had four cockies over the years, and when given an apple they would all rip it to bits, drop the flesh and eat the seeds. They did eat raw carrots though, so it's probable some of them do eat the apple itself. The point of this little story, as well as modelling reading for very young readers, is a little lesson on "reading" animals. Children (and adults, for that matter) who know how to read animal body language and behaviour are much less likely to get into unpleasant situations with the furry and feathery ones.
About the Blog
The illustration shows a cockatoo, and although cockatoos are parrots (whereas not all parrots are cockatoos) in my experience cockatoos are much less interested in the apple itself than in its seeds. We've had four cockies over the years, and when given an apple they would all rip it to bits, drop the flesh and eat the seeds. They did eat raw carrots though, so it's probable some of them do eat the apple itself. The point of this little story, as well as modelling reading for very young readers, is a little lesson on "reading" animals. Children (and adults, for that matter) who know how to read animal body language and behaviour are much less likely to get into unpleasant situations with the furry and feathery ones.
About the Blog
Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)
The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, leave me a message.
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