Yara and the Yellow-Headed Parrots is a children's picture book written by Yossi Lapid and illustrated by Joanna Pasek. Yara is a young girl who loves animals. As she watches how beautiful and free the newest high-rise hatchlings of her jungle thrive, Yara sees a man who has his sights on capturing the chicks and selling them illegally for quick cash. Parents of the hatchlings keep a close watch on their young and attack when the intruder gets too close. Yara confronts the man and educates him on the right way to do things, as well as on how so many endangered animal species can once again thrive if only people would think of the legal alternatives to their criminal actions.

As an animal lover and veterinary nurse, I truly loved the strong message in the pages of Yossi Lapid's story. With so many animals around the world fast becoming endangered or extinct due to human interactions, the importance of getting such an important message across to readers, especially when they are young, is priceless. Yara's actions not only saved the hatchlings from becoming a part of the black market - where many animals are either become exotic pets or even food - but they also show that there is always a way to do things without harming others, as long as you use common sense and good judgment. I will treasure Yara and the Yellow-Headed Parrots and wholeheartedly recommend it to all readers, both young and old, so that they may also see that their actions today can significantly affect the tomorrow of all creatures, great and small.

Yossi Lapid loves nature, and it shows throughout the book Yara and the Yellow Headed Parrots. This children’s book takes the reader to the jungles of South America to observe the Yellow Headed Parrots in their natural environment. Many people buy this type of bird and keep them in cages for their enjoyment. Yossi knows this is wrong and the birds need to be free to thrive in their natural habitat. However, many species of parrots (including the stars of this book) are nearing extinction because of the loss of their habitats and people capturing them to sell. Yara stops a poacher and talks him into doing the right thing. She has another solution to the man’s problem. Children need to think about ways to protect wild animals and their natural habitat.

Yara and the Yellow Headed Parrots by Yossi Lapid shares the story of how Yara stops a bird poacher. This book teaches young children that they can do something to stop the trade of protected animals. Children can help turn the tide on the misuse of animals and teach adults the importance of protecting the environment in which the animals need to live. Yossi shares a love for nature in an interesting manner. The theme of rescuing and re-educating a poacher is a fantastic idea. Young children can read this book for themselves, but I suggest the parent being with the child and opening a dialog of conservationism. The artwork by Joanna Pasek is excellent. Yossi has authored a masterful book for children.

Yara and the Yellow-Headed Parrots is a children's story by author Yossi Lapid. Yara quietly observes from the rainforest floor as two yellow-headed parrot chicks are cared for by their parents in the nest high in the tree. The parents are confident that they have a safe place for their nest. But do they? A poacher approaches; he’s intent on poaching the two chicks. He can make a lot of money selling them and he needs that money to help his son who is very ill. But Yara has a better idea, one that will save these chicks. Yellow-headed parrots are critically endangered birds and their biggest enemy is humans.

Yossi Lapid’s picture book story, Yara and the Yellow-Headed Parrots, is the third book in Yara’s rainforest series. Told in rhyming verse and with beautiful, boldly colorful illustrations, the plot follows Yara’s fascination with the newly born chicks high in the nest and her concern for their safety, especially when she catches a poacher intent on capturing the chicks for the open market. Yara is well-spoken for a young girl, but her words are heartfelt. She really cares for the natural world around her: “these birds must be free with their life to enjoy!” And even more poignant: “we must be careful with the choices we make!” In her conversation with the would-be poacher, she shares interesting details about the yellow-headed parrots. At the end of the story, there are more interesting facts about yellow-headed parrots and why and how they have become such an endangered species. This simple story has a powerful message, not just about the yellow-headed parrots, but about the natural world around us and how we must think carefully before we act, or else everything that makes this world beautiful will be gone forever.

Yara and the Yellow-Headed Parrots, written by Yossi Lapid and illustrated by Joanna Pasek, is a children's picture book and the third book in the Yara's Rainforest series, preceded by Yara's Tawari Tree and Yara and Purr. The story begins with a young girl named Yara watching a family of parrots in the natural habitat the birds share with Yara in the rainforest, the cohesion made even more apparent through alternating points of view. The gorgeous delicacy of the scene is shattered when Yara witnesses a man attempting to capture the endangered Yellow-Headed Amazon birds to sell in a desperate bid to earn money so he can treat his son who is very ill.

Yossi Lapid brings another exceptional children's book to the top of our family's bedtime rotation with Yara and the Yellow-Headed Parrots. The lyrical, rhythmic tone of writing and the convergence of the needs of the animal inhabitants of the rainforest and the humans, who for generations, have done the same are finely balanced and respectful of the plight of both. The empathy of Yara and her ability to defuse situations that would otherwise go terribly wrong makes her the perfect young protagonist. Joanna Pasek breathes life into Lapid's words with fluid artwork that practically sings from the page. Full color and a full spread of stylized illustrations bring a lushness to each and every scene. We are wholly besotted by Yara and the perfect pairing of Lapid and Pasek and look forward once more to what they deliver next. Very highly recommended.