The Last Time I Saw Harris

When a fierce windstorm blows away his clever parrot Harris, Edmund is inconsolable and goes with the family chauffeur on a long search through town and country

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- The best trick Edmund has taught Harris, his parrot, is to identify colors when he taps on flash cards. After a fierce wind blows the pet out the window, Edmund is despondent and takes to his bed. Many clever parrots are hired by his family, but none can identify colors. Edmund and his chauffeur begin a long trip, flashing cards at birds in hopes of finding Harris. Their limousine, damaged during the trip, acquires replacement parts of many colors, thus leading Harris to them. Remkiewicz's watercolor-and-ink line illustrations have a cartoonlike simplicity. The horizontal pages show to advantage the picture spreads of the long limo on its journey and Edmund's spare, almost lonely surroundings. The format also works well with sequence frames of tricks and the flash card game. Most of the humor, however, will be best appreciated by adults. Much of the fun turns on the color chart, right down to the finale (which is a bit contrived). It is the contrast of the deadpan, almost formal text with the humorous plot and pictures that will bring chuckles to more sophisticated readers. Young children will take Edmund's loss seriously and will be glad when what has been lost is found. --Jane Saliers, Atlanta-Fulton Pub . Lib .
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This droll picture book from the illustrator of Ants Can't Dance and I Love Saturday is laced with subtle introductions to a few basic concepts such as time, distance and color recognition. Little wonder that Edmund dotes on his pet parrot Harris: the precocious bird is proficient at checkers, croquet and bubble blowing--and he knows every color in the color wheel except purple. When Harris is swept away by a "fierce windstorm," Edmund is disconsolate. Not even a parade of virtuoso parrots from a nearby talent agency can assuage his grief. Together with Higgins, the family chauffeur, Edmund sets off to locate his friend. As the black stretch limo weaves its way from continent to continent, Higgins meets with one auto mishap after another. Multicolored salvaged items replace the fenders, doors and rocket panels, at last forming the perfect signal to lure Harris from the skies. Unexpected solutions, antic artwork and just the right level of urbane humor mark this genuinely funny story of a parrot with pizzazz. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.