Grandmother's Pigeon

by Louise Erdrich

Hardcover, 1996

Status

Available

Collection

Publication

Hyperion Books (1996), Edition: 1st, 32 pages

Description

Passenger pigeon hatchlings, thought to be extinct, are discovered in Grandmother's room after she departs on a voyage to Greenland.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Treeseed
The illustrations in this book are wonderful and are a perfect compliment to this strange,comforting story of a loving family and the legacy of their magical grandmother. There are some subtle nuances that parents will pick up if they pay attention. This is a tale about ecology and love for free
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and wild creatures, with a bit of shamanism thrown in for good measure. There is humour here and wisdom. I love this book for the satisfying feeling of gentle wonder that I feel as I turn the last page and close the book. I recommend it to all with childish hearts.
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LibraryThing member Anthony2013
This book depict how certain members of the family could and would influence their family to take care of things in their absence. The children this book respected their grandmothers pigeons after left. Furthermore the entire family basked in up bring of the pets. Knowing that their gradmother
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loved her pets and treated them like family. Her family took care of them and took absolute joy and pleasure in doing so.

Book Review, Pierce College Ages (3-7)
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LibraryThing member kesharra
This book is about a grandma who loves the outdoors and wild life creatures. The grandma brings back home a nest of eggs and the family sits and waits for the eggs to hatch. Its the family's responsibility to take care of the eggs until there old enough to fly with there flock.
LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
Grandmother is loving but also strong and "mysterious." When she sets off on the back of a porpoise to visit Greenland and isn't heard from in a year, the family starts peeking through the things in her room. Mother delicately lifts a nest with some eggs only to discover baby birds hatching -- and
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that's just the beginning of the magic!

This is an odd but good book. Grandmother is a bit quirky and then the book quickly dives off into some magic realism with the porpoise riding. It winds its way back to that but not before temporarily resurrecting an extinct species along the way.

All throughout, the book is fully captivating and leaves you wondering what will happen next. It contains the perfect combination of Erdrich's evocative writing style and the beautiful, eye-catching illustrations. It's not just that the illustrations feature realistic-looking people, it shows them with very relatable human reactions and expressions. It felt as though you could walk into the scene with them.

I definitely recommend this book for folks like me who enjoy Louise Erdrich's writings. It's also appealing for kids and adults who like interesting and unconventional stories.
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LibraryThing member Whisper1
LaMarche is one of my favorite authors. His stories are happy, and his artistry is delightful. In this book, two children delight in their grandmother's visits. She always tells such great stories, and she also has hand-made medicines On a family vacation to the beach, their grandmother opened an
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umbrella and flew away to Greenland.

This story reminds me very much of Mary Poppins the tale of a magical woman who knew how to entertain children.

One year later, and grandmother had not returned. The family gingerly entered her bedroom and found a trove of objects, including a nest with three eggs inside. The baby pigeons slowly cracked out of the eggs and were fed by a dropper. When an ornithologist was called, he noted that this was an incredible find as the birds were thought to be extinct.

As they grew older, it was a shame to continue to cage them. One moonlight night, the children carefully cradled the birds and with a little push set them flying in the air.

The next day there was a note from grandma from Greenland saying she changed porpoises three times and then caught a whale. She said she would be back soon. And told them to look out for her stuffed pigeon on a shelf.

A lovely story with lovely illustrations made my day a happy one!
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Awards

Flicker Tale Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 1997)
Show Me Readers Award (Nominee — 1999)

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

32 p.; 11.38 inches

ISBN

0786801654 / 9780786801657

Barcode

446

Pages

32
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