Ben and Sara Donovan live in a small community called Wolfe Lake with their daughters, Megan, six years old, and Katie, eight years old. They have two pets: Polly, a multi-colored talking parrot, and Stubby, a tan-colored, bowlegged bulldog. Ben owns a small landscaping business. Sara is a stay-at-home parent and an animal lover. One day, Sara, Megan, Katie, and Stubby are walking in the woods. They see an injured black crow lying on the ground. Sara picks up the crow, takes him home, and mends him back to health. The crow does not return to the wild when healed and turned loose. He chose to remain with the family. Sara names him Al, and he becomes one of their pets. The family had become used to Polly’s chatter, but a week later, it amazed them when Al spoke. Their everyday life, as they know it, is about to undergo a drastic and hilarious transformation. From that day forward, nothing is the same in the Donovan household, as Al becomes a funny and mischievous character.
Ben and Sara Donovan live in a small community called Wolfe Lake with their daughters, Megan, six years old, and Katie, eight years old. They have two pets: Polly, a multi-colored talking parrot, and Stubby, a tan-colored, bowlegged bulldog. Ben owns a small landscaping business. Sara is a stay-at-home parent and an animal lover. One day, Sara, Megan, Katie, and Stubby are walking in the woods. They see an injured black crow lying on the ground. Sara picks up the crow, takes him home, and mends him back to health. The crow does not return to the wild when healed and turned loose. He chose to remain with the family. Sara names him Al, and he becomes one of their pets. The family had become used to Polly’s chatter, but a week later, it amazed them when Al spoke. Their everyday life, as they know it, is about to undergo a drastic and hilarious transformation. From that day forward, nothing is the same in the Donovan household, as Al becomes a funny and mischievous character.
It was a warm summer in the small, friendly town of Wolfe Lake. Ben Donovan, his wife Sara, and two daughters, Katie and Megan, lived in a modest white house that sat on a hill, overlooking a round, freshwater lake.
Ben owned a two-person landscaping business. His wife, Sara, was a homemaker. She took care of six-year old Megan, eight-year old Katie, plus the two-family pets, Polly, the multi-colored parrot and Stubby a tan-colored, short, bowlegged bulldog. Ben has always called his wife Mama Sara. The two young girls have learned this from their father and also call their mother, Mama Sara. Over the years, Mama Sara, who loved all animals, has mended the wings of birds so they could fly again, and healed the cuts or breaks in the legs of squirrels, raccoons, and even a baby deer so that they could run and play.
During the last week of June, Mama Sara found a black crow in the woods behind their house. The crow was lying on the ground. He had a head injury, and his tiny tongue had poorly been cut. She took him home and tended to his injuries. It took two weeks for the crow to heal. Finally, Mama Sara felt it was time for the black crow to fly back into the wild, so she and the two girls opened the back screen door to let him go free. The black crow went outside and flew into the air. Then, to their surprise, he returned and landed on the porch railing. He stood looking at them. Unlike the other animals Mama Sara had healed in the past, he didn’t leave. He stayed with them and became one of their family pets. They named him Al.
One afternoon, Mama Sara, Megan, and Katie were sitting on the back screened porch. Polly was in her cage. Stubby was lying on the floor, and Al was perched on the back of a chair.
Ben’s Ford pickup pulled into the driveway. He got out and walked up to the porch door. Ben usually said, “I’m home, Mama,” every time he arrived home from work. However, this time when Ben opened the screen door, they were amazed as Al said, “I’m home, Mama.”
The four of them stared at Al as he repeated, “I’m home, Mama.” They were used to Polly the parrot saying things like, “Hello Ben.” “Polly wants a cracker,” or “Where’s Sara?” However, for Al to speak, that surprised them. They stared at Al. He returned their gaze. “Ben’s home, Mama Sara,” said Al. This time, they were stunned. From that day forward, nothing was the same in the Donovan household. Al became their talking and mischievous bird.
One morning, little Megan was in the den. She was having a piano lesson from Mama Sara. Katie was practicing ballet movements out on the glassed-in front porch that looked over the lake. Suddenly, they heard Mrs. Korstange, an elderly, heavyset German neighbor from across the street, yelling. They rushed to the back porch. Mrs. K (as they called her), dressed in her long green terry cloth bathrobe, was running across her yard, swinging a straw broom over her head. She was obviously upset as she ran right through her flower bed, crushing the beautiful multi-colored pansies. Mrs. K. was waving the broom and yelling German words that they didn’t understand; otherwise, Mama Sara might have been covering Megan and Katie’s ears. The brunt of Mrs. K’s fury was Al, who was flying in front of the irate woman. Al was crying, “Mama, Mama! Help Al!”
Mama Sara and the two girls stepped out onto the porch and opened the door as Al flew to them. He landed on Sara’s outstretched arm. Mrs. K. stopped in the middle of the road. She was still shaking the straw broom and shouting in her German accent, “Sara, Al did it again. He pulled the cap off the milk bottles and drank all the cream.” She stood in the road for a few moments and then abruptly turned and walked back home.
Mama Sara shook her head, “Oh, bad Al.” She sat him down on the back of a chair. Al lowered his head and spread out one of his wings as if bowing, “Bad Al,” he said. Megan and Katie laughed.
Mama Sara said, “Yes, bad Al.”
She looked at Katie, “Take two of our new bottles of milk over to Mrs. K. and tell her, I’ll be over later to apologize.”
Polly, Stubby & Al will make you laugh, make you cry, and might prompt your children to ask for a pet crow and not just any ordinary crow, one with a split tongue. Why this particular kind of crow, you may ask. We quickly learn that a crow's split tongue enables them to speak. This ability generated many humorous scenes with Al, the talking crow, as the main star. Al wasn't the only chatterbox in the Donovan household; Polly, the parrot, also entertained the family with their words. The real, unexpected jaw-dropping moment was when the parrot altered their voice to sound like Mama Sara and AL. They used this talent to prank the crow and Stubby, the bowlegged bulldog. Too funny.
Many families have dogs as pets. Some homes might even have a parrot, but a crow isn't your typical idea of a family pet. So, how did Al, the crow, find his way into their family? It was a chance encounter. Sara saw the bird injured and nursed it back to health. She intended for him to live out in the wild; however, Al had other plans, and the family soon discovered he was indeed a very special bird. Al enjoyed joining Megan and Katie at the lake as the young sisters fished. He came when Mama Sara called his name. The crow's word choices and his mischievous antics were very entertaining to watch.
Al's naughtiness will have you laughing. If the text doesn't make you giggle, some of the colorful illustrations will. As I said in the introduction, this story will make you laugh, but it'll also make some cry. The storm scene was very moving. I cried when Al cried out for "Mama." I figured he would be saved, but the journey to their reunion and then the reunion itself had me reaching for tissues again and again. Maybe they will for you, as well. Even though I adored every funny and sad scene, there were unfortunately several editing mistakes. That said, I recommend another editing pass.
Though the story needed more TLC, it is still a remarkable chapter book. I recommend sharing with your children, ages 5-10.
Author's note: "Polly, Stubby & Al is a true story. It's about my grandparents and their two young daughters, who are my mother and aunt. It took place in the 1920s."