Pau The Last Song of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō is a picture book by Tony Piedra and Mackenzie Joy. It tells the life story of the Hawaiian bird that became extinct in our lifetime.
The picture book gives a warning that extinction didn’t stop after the dinosaurs. It is happening now because of human activity. It can also stop now as more and more people become aware and make efforts to make changes to protect the planet and all its creatures.
Read Pau The Last Song of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō for Earth Day. Let children understand that they can make a difference. The planet belongs to everywhere. We all need to take care of nature.
The back matter is very informative. Children will enjoy spotting the birds and other animals of Kauaʻi. They learn how native species need to compete with animals introduced by humans.
Introducing new species to an environment changes the balance of nature. Invasive species don’t have the same checks and balances as native species. Sometimes invasive species cause native species to become extinct.
A Brief History of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō shows how long the bird had been around. Human interaction changed the fate of the bird. Slowly the habitat loss forced the bird into extinction.
Kauaʻi ʻōʻō wasn’t the only bird to become extinct, but hopefully it will be the last.
The repetition and simple sentence structures make the book an easy read. I also loved the power of threes.
“More people, plants, and animals. More buildings, roads, and towns.”
This simple structure shows how one tiny change can cause so much harm.
“More and more meant less and less.”
The Earth is finite. There’s limited resources. People have to learn to live with less, if they want to make room for more nature.
Pau The Last Song of the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō is a great book to read to bring up environmental issues that can be prevented. The more we know, the more we will change for the benefit of our planet.