Fledgling's First Flight: A Happy Rescue Tale

There is no shortage of flying and swooping red-billed gulls around the coastline of Aotearoa, but we can often overlook the fact that all these birds started off as fledglings, needing to learn to fly. 'Fledgling's First Flight' is a heartwarming tale of a little fledgling (kōhungahunga) who gets into trouble whilst learning to fly. This rescue is based on real life events and demonstrates how sometimes human intervention can save the day!

The fully illustrated pages evoke feelings of being on the coast and close to the action of the flying gulls. The illustrations show movement and although they are not highly detailed they portray a sense of emotion.

Te Reo Māori is woven through the story, with the reader being able to choose if they use the English or Māori kupu. There are some fabulous bonus and valuable features in this book, a glossary, a list of Māori kupu, background to the inspiration of the story and a QR Code linking to teaching notes. The glossary not only gives a definition but also uses the word in a sentence from the story which is really helpful for young readers to get a better understanding of the word.

A lovely story which shows that when we are learning a new skill we could all do with a helping hand or two until we find our wings!