I have planned to take my children to Bird Paradise during the holidays. It’s their second visit, so this time round, I make it my business to prepare my son intellectually for the visit. Hence, the borrowing of this book.

Most students have difficulty recalling the defining characteristics of a particular group of animals. So I’m particularly pleased that Megan Pomper holds no punches and gets children to understand that birds have feathers by the second page! She then describes other characteristics, including beaks, wings, laying eggs, flying, before bringing up examples to prove that not only birds have such characteristics. I was flabbergasted that my son is aware of the platypus. I initially thought that his childcare teacher had taught him that, but apparently, I was the ONE to educate him during a visit to the physician. Way to go, Papa Heng!

Incidentally, I know that octopuses have three hearts, but this book enlightened to the fact that they have beaks, too. Wow. Mother Nature is amazing.

Megan Pomper subsequently turns philosophical and poses thought-provoking questions like whether fictional birds conjured by one’s imagination can be considered birds as well. She reminds me of Zen koans. Stuff like if a leaf falling to the ground in the forest is not heard by anyone, has it truly fallen? 🍃 I’m sure Megan didn’t expect her work to be used as an authentic text for a zealous parent to drill that birds = feathers. 🪶

Incidentally, my boy got this PSLE question wrongly. The illustrator, Maia Hoekstra, has compiled all her drawings of real birds (34 of them) at the back of her book, so moving forward, I need to sensitise my boy to the various kinds of beaks, claws and feet, as well as the functions they serve.

If you’re wondering why I am so kiasu (afraid to lose), let me just say that I take a personal interest in my boy doing well for Science - more so than English, in fact. It was my only A* during the pivotal exam, and my father helped me ace it by giving me a crash course on the types of machines (pulley, lever, etc). I had gotten a B for my preliminary, which explained why my dad felt that he had to step in. Hehe.