Heroes come in all sizes. Small creatures can have large hopes and show extraordinary strength in meeting great challenges. This is the story of such a hero, a tiny blue parakeet.
The story starts in an unlikely location for great adventure: a small pet shop in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.The last parakeet to be chosen, Tutu is about to be taken by a small sailor who often visits the shop and the little bird is excited by prospects of a life of adventure on the high seas. But at the last minute a noisy, rowdy little girl snatches him up. After a scary trip in a dark box, Tutu arrives at the home of the Rosens. There his new owner, Elissa, forces him to join in her Barbie doll play, with dizzying rides in the Barbie convertible, cold bubble baths, and chases through the Barbie house.
The blue of the sky and the vision of birds in flight beckon to Tutu; He longs to be with the little sailor, out in the open, riding on his shoulder like a parrot, sailing the high seas.
When Tutu is entered in a pet show in a pink cage with pink bows and he repeats: " I 'm a pretty girl," he gets a shocking revelation. The larger birds tell him his owner thinks he is a girl. Their merciless taunts enrage Tutu and target Elissa.
Anger fuels many decisions heroes make...sometimes not the wisest.Tutu continues his resentment of Elissa and his determination to escape. Finally he gets his chance to fly away from the Rosens. He is confident he will join the other birds and eventually find the little man.
Tutu soon finds, however, that the open skies are not as easy to navigate as the confines of a house. He learns about hardship and rejection and that freedom's opportunities are studded with many dangers. Cat claws, attacking birds, and larger, more cunning tormentors are some of the tests of his courage, determination, and his very survival. Will the little parakeet hold fast to his dreams? Sometimes over destiny's horizon, the hero finds fulfillment in surprising ways.
About the Author: Norma King Green has been a long time resident of Fairfield, California. Much of the ideas for her writing, though, comes from her travels earlier as an army daughter and an air force wife. Her inspiration for writing children's stories comes largely from the ups and downs of raising four children and the "trial- by-fire" survival of substitute teaching for fourteen years. Recently, the pleasure of having five young grandchildren has been a motivation in her writing.
