No Way, Winky Blue!

FIRST IN THE WINKY BLUE SERIES

Rosie has high ambitions for her new parakeet, Winky Blue. She plans to train him to become a hero and perform feats of bravery and courage, like Lassie. But what will Rosie do if Winky Blue turns out to be just an ordinary parakeet? A warm and funny story from the author’s own childhood.

About the Book

When I was eight-years old, I took all my money out of the bank (eight dollars!) and bought a parakeet …

 I called him Winky Blue because he was a pretty blue color and he had bright black eyes that winked at me.

I was thrilled to have a pet of my own and headed off to our local library in search of a book about the adventures of a little girl and her pet parakeet.  I wanted a story about a parakeet who would be a hero, like Lassie, the famous TV collie. Winky Blue would catch crooks, I imagined, save people from drowning, and carry urgent messages in his beak.

When I failed to find any books about an heroic parakeet (or even an ordinary one) I bought a small spiral notebook and began writing my own. This was the beginning of my life as an author, and the seed of an idea that eventually grew into the Winky Blue series.

In the six books in the Winky Blue series, Rosie is always scheming to turn her parakeet into a hero and a star with funny and sometimes disastrous results. But in the end she always comes to realize that her love for Winky Blue is more important than fame-until the next book, that is!