Respecting our Urban Wildlife

A sweet little offering from Sarah Hampson and Kass Reich, Dr Coo and the Pigeon Protest, published by Kids Can Press is a reminder to treat the wild life in our cities with respect.  

Dr.Archibald Coo is an old soul, he loves to fly around the city, stopping to perch on the statues and observe all the life busily going by.  He notices there is a problem, a big problem vocalized by a young pigeon named Hootie Claw. Pigeons get no respect in the city, they get shooed and run over, and kicked at.  Dr. Coo remembers a time when pigeons and people coexisted in harmony, helping each other so along with the other pigeons, they decide to stage a protest.

A gentle reminder that we share our cities with many different people and many different animals.  As much as many of these animals can be a nuisance, who hasn’t woken up to the aftermath of the raccoons midnight buffet, we need to respect that animals live among us and we need to find and create spaces for these animals and ourselves so we can again live in harmony.  Sarah Hampson has the pigeons leave us with a very important thought, “When you are loved, you can love in return”. What a beautiful reminder that all living beings need love. The illustrations by Kass Reich are brilliant and eye catching. She creates the most beautiful pigeons, capturing their unique differences and their beautiful colouring,  You really feel as if you are on the streets and in the parks of your own city, no matter where you live.