Change Your Perspective

Kicks, blocks, strikes and stances, Kakapo is great at them all in this lovely debut picture book by Toronto author Loredana Cunti.  Illustrated by Stacy Curtis, Karate Kakapo will have your reader trying out all their karate moves.

Kakapo is getting ready for her black belt test and is a little worried about having to do a flying kick, you see kakapos can’t fly.  On the day of the big test, Kakapo breezes through all the kicks, blocks, stikes and stances until she is last asked to do the dreaded flying kick.  With a little encouragement from her sensei and a change of perspective, Kakapo achieves her goal of earning her karate black belt.

Before reading Karate Kakapo, I had never heard of a kakapo, a flightless bird native to New Zealand.  What a treat it was to do a little investigating with The Bear and The Bee to find out more about this bird.  I love stories that lead to questions and investigations. While Karate Kakapo is a nice little story about perseverance and perspective, it also offers the opportunity to dig a little deeper into the martial arts or different types of birds.  The book ends with a lovely message about trying. How often in a day do I hear the words, “I can’t!” knowing full well they can and just don’t want to try. By offering a story like Karate Kakapo we can show readers even if they think they can’t, with a change in perspective, a new way of thinking about a task, they can turn their can’t into a can.

Stacy Curtis nails the illustrations, bringing Kakapo’s karate prowess to life in the lively illustrations.  Bright and colourful, the illustrations side kick their way right off the page.