Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest

written by Sarah Hampson
illustrated by Kass Reich

Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest is a sweet but nonrealistic story for children. I don’t mean unrealistic in the sense that it is fiction. Indeed it is fiction and talking birds can be expected. My issue with the book is that its goal is to show how even those with differences can work to get along with each other…and I believe in that. The problem is that the basis for compromise is based on promises the pigeons can not keep such as refraining from “splatting on cars (and heads)” and instead use only designated compost areas for their droppings, keeping public areas clean. In exchange people will not put spikes on ledges, shoo pigeons away, or run them down with cars. These are nice sentiments but the pigeons, being pigeons, can not keep up their end of the bargain. This concept just does not translate over to two groups of people trying to live in harmony.

The book is well written and the illustrations are appealing, their style going well with the text. The best part of the book is the idea Dr. Coo, a pigeon, has for getting people’s attention so they can negotiate. I would say to the team, “Give it another go with a different idea or even a different solution. I just would not buy this for my own children or for my classroom as is.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kids Can Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3/5

Category: Children’s Fiction

Notes: Ages 4-8
Grades P-2

Publication: April 3, 2018—Kids Can Press

Memorable Lines:

The conversation started out as it normally did.
They cackled about the supply of corn kernels in the park.
They nattered about the nearing of winter.
They prattled about new perches.

A sweet little offering from Sarah Hampson and Kass Reich, Dr Coo and the Pigeon Protest 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.

There was some interesting historical facts, but it didn't sway me to be more compassionate with pigeons. I was expecting something better, even something with some humor. This didn't "fly" like it could've.

Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest is a picturebook written by Sarah Hampson and illustrated by Kass Reich. It is currently scheduled for release on April 3 2018. Dr. Archibald Coo, an erudite big-city pigeon, is tired of the way people treat him and the other pigeons. They're always being shooed and swatted, and they're never admired the way the other birds are. As Dr. Coo tells his pigeon friends: It wasn't always this way. In ancient times, pigeons were known to accompany the gods. They brought news of the Olympic Games to all of ancient Greece. And more recently, they delivered messages and medicine to soldiers on battlefields. They were heroes! Surely, Dr. Coo reasons, pigeons can find a way to earn the admiration of people once again. And he's got just the bold plan to do it.

Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest is a well written and illustrated picturebook. I found the artwork to be lovely, and to give extra details to the story. I liked that the pigeons not only noticed how other birds were treated in contrast to them, but that they came up with a solution that was about knowledge, awareness, and love rather than violence and causing problems for those that have treated them badly. I like the example about compromise and making changes happen. It is about diversity, activism, compromise, and co-existence. I like that the lesson is part of the story, but at no point did it feel like it was being forced. Also, children might learn something real about how our use and perspective of pigeons has changed over the years, and that the same could happen to any other group with the right conditions.

Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest is a picture book with a solid basic idea--pigeons are sad because they are treated poorly and decide to stage a protest. However, this concept is carried out in such a way that it feels like a heavy handed allegory for the struggles of other oppressed people with a far-too-neat conclusion. Dr. Coo writes a letter and pigeons are celebrated from that day forward. All but the youngest listeners will likely find this result cloyingly simple.

Dr. Coo and his pigeon friends are outraged that humans no longer appreciate pigeons. This book also features a brief history of pigeon's role in our lives in the past, which I thought was really interesting and told in a format that kids would also enjoy. It's entertaining, and kids will be delighted to learn what the pigeons do at the end. Great message about appreciating everything around you.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Dr. Archibald Coo and his big city pigeon friends are tired of the way they are treated by the city's inhabitants. Pigeons have a long and heroic past--they don't deserve to be called "rats with wings'! They decided to do something about it and go on strike, prompting citizens to realize just how much they appreciate pigeons.
Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest is a cut, fun story. The illustrations are adorable. I have always loved pigeons and enjoyed seeing them portrayed in a positive light.

My children loved "Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest" with it's subtle humor and adorable illustrations. The pigeons of NYC are fed up that people shoo them away, call them pests, and act like they are dirty. They don't understand why people treat them different from other birds, such as cardinals, who the people rush to watch. That's when Dr. Coo has an idea-- the pigeons will simply go away without a word. The people of NYC are immediately unsettled, and Dr. Coo takes a note to the mayor of the city explaining what the pigeons are doing. After compromising on a few issues, such as the pigeons will stop pooping on people's heads if the people remove anti-pigeon spikes to the city ledges, the pigeons and the people learn to live together in harmony. This book serves as good reminder to children that we are all worthy of love and kindness. Furthermore, if we work together and try to compromise, we might find a lot of similarities between ourselves and those different from us. In a world with so much hurt and hate, it's always good to have reminders to love each other.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Dr. Archibald Coo is a sophisticated pigeon who's tired of the way he and his fellow pigeons are treated by humans. They're shooed at, swatted, and treated like a general menace. Dr. Coo remembers when pigeons enjoyed a higher profile in history: in ancient Greece, they delivered news about the Olympic Games; during World War I, they carried messages across battlefields. Now? pfft. So Dr. Coo and his pigeon friends organize and decide to strike: they disappear from every public space, leaving a confused public wondering what happened. Dr. Coo heads over to the mayor's office a history of the pigeon and a note, asking for tolerance, opening the door to a new era of pigeon-human relations. It's a cute urban story with a wink to New York and other urban spaces, and has a nice thread about inclusivity and diversity running through the book. Gouache paint and colored pencil art makes for a soft illustration, with attention to the different types of pigeons - there are! - in the cityscape. This would be cute to booktalk with James Sage's Stop Feedin' Da Boids!

***<i>I was provided this ARC from Netgalley and Kids Can Press for an honest review</i>***

The pigeons are in revolt! They are not going to stand for being shooed away and treated like "rats with wings" anymore! Dr. Coo leads the revolution and takes his pigeon friends away from the city until their demands have been met. Will the people miss them? Will their demands be met without any backlash?

I think that it is ironic that the bird's name is Dr. Coo and he is leading a bird coo against the humans. The illustrations were cute and made the story more enjoyable but the plot was just a bit on the bland side. I could see kids getting bored and possibly missing the great message that is buried in the text. The author wants us all to celebrate our differences and to be more tolerable to others. The closing page holds a message that is a great moral to the story: "When you're loved, you can love in return." However, I am not convinced that the book really sells this notion thus the reason I gave it 3 stars.

Dr. Archibald Coo, a big-city pigeon, is tired of the way the pigeons get no respect from people. They get shooed and swatted, so he reminds his pigeon friends that things were not always like that. In fact, at one time they were quite respected birds, and he gives them examples. It doesn’t take long to get all the pigeons on board with his thinking. So he then shares his plan to gain back respect.

Cons:
The story felt long and the message more appropriate for older children. Though Dr. Coo did have a plan, it was oversimplified and worked immediately. Plus, is the message to protest? Had they ever tried communicating before protesting? Nothing felt very picture-book-friendly to me.

Pros:
It is a very good message about respect and understanding, and I liked that a bit of history was incorporated into it.

A nice book about how the relationship between the pigeons and humans was and how it has changed now.
The pigeons feel that they are not appreciated and so they go on strike. It can be used for introducing democracy, respecting differences to kids

Thanks to netgalley

Mmm, nah. I liked the look of this book, and it has a simple, pleasant writing style to appeal to the young, but as for the story I just didn't buy it. I guess it's both a straight tale of pigeons abandoning a city in protest at feeling unwelcome, and a metaphor for people in said cities who could say the same, but it doesn't work. Pigeons would never manage to have one compost place in the parks, and will never be anything other than the germy, diseased and damaged things they are. By all means see if you match the sentiment of the book, but I wouldn't share it with a youngster based on the ideas therein.

It’s weird to say that a picture book is long. But this book is long. This reader lost interest way before the end, heck even the halfway point. The story is about poor pigeons that are misunderstood and not thought of in the same way as blue jays and cardinals. It points out advantages of pigeons that made them helpful in war, and to transfer messages. The story seems important, but it just goes on and on, kind of like this review. The pigeons go on strike and protest for better reception. The ideas in this book are strong, but the execution is just so so.

"When you are loved, you can love in return." If for no other reason, that quote should be why you read this book. Kids Can Press hits the mark again with this beautiful book about acceptance, kindness and respect. Sarah Hampson is able to cover some sensitive topics through the relationships between people and pigeons, who would have thought?! All things should be able to live in the city together peacefully, but the pigeons are feeling quite disrespected. Their response is to completely disappear from the city and the outcome is astounding. The story promotes thoughtful conversation about how we treat one another, the world and other creatures. I am looking forward to reading and discussing this with older elementary students in the future.

Pigeon power needed! Pigeons unite! It's time to stop being disrespected by the people around us. We are waging war on discourtesy!

Dr. Coo, a sophisticated, big-city kind of pigeon, rallies the troops and mobilizes them for victory. You see all the pigeons feel that they get no respect as people swat at them with their umbrellas, shoo them from their perches and make them feel like pests, unworthy and unwanted. Other birds are admired and revered but not the pigeons.

In bygone times pigeons were held in very high esteem and worked in harmony with mankind. They once delivered news of the Olympic Games throughout Ancient Greece and medicine to soldiers on battlefields. They were important to humans even called heroes, but alas, no more. Something has to be done to get them in high standing once again. Enough is enough!

Dr. Coo cleverly uses his smarts and hatches a plan to reinstate pigeons back to their rightful place and reclaim the admiration and respect they so deserve.

It will be Pigeon power at it's best... but will it work? Healing and harmony is on it's way thanks to the good doctor... Dr. Who? No silly... Dr. Coo!!!!

This was a good book that gives a bit of background to the relationship that used to exist between people and pigeons and it has some nice images - 3 stars from me,

When the pigeons in the city feel disrespected, they decide to stage a protest and disappear until the people acknowledge their importance and decide to treat them with kindness (in exchange for less bird droppings on their heads). The illustrations are nice watercolors in slightly muted tones that capture the feeling of the concrete city while still allowing for some slightly brighter colors of nature.

I think this story works well for elementary school students with a target audience of 4-6 grade if the intended "lesson" is to be learned. Younger students will simply enjoy a story about birds in the city with little thought to the underlying agenda. For what it's worth, I think the city is the star of the show and not the pigeons or the people.

Dr. Coo and his friends take a stand against the way they, and all pigeons like them, have been treated by the people of the city. This is a sweet book that touches on standing up for one's self and how to request inclusion. The illustrations are spectacular!