TUKO AND THE BIRDS

Birdsong lulls the people on the isle of Luzon to sleep each night, because the birds practice their music in an abandoned house atop Mount Pinatubo and the evening breeze carries the sweet noise down. Haribon the eagle is too large to fit inside the house, so he lingers outside to enjoy the music. Until a lizard arrives. “I am Tuko the gecko, and I’ve come to sing,” the lizard says. But Tuko’s song is far from pleasant, and his very presence makes the birds unable to open their mouths. So Haribon sets to work. His first effort—offering Tuko a goodbye present—fails, but then the eagle comes up with a brilliant idea, comprised of sticky tree sap sculpted into the shape of beetles. If the plan succeeds, perhaps Tuko will go back where he belongs! Climo’s text makes the most of Tuko’s overbearing obnoxiousness, his braying TUKOs rendered in an upper-case shout that invites audience participation. Mora’s softly colored realistic watercolors nicely complement this laugh-worthy story of innovation and trickery. (glossary, author’s note) (Picture book/folklore. 5-10)