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The Bird Smugglers
During a thirty-six hour flight from Australia to England, fourteen-year-old Margaret uncovers a smuggling plot among her seatmates.
183 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 21, 2018
Teenager Margaret must figure out where the Australian parrots being smuggled by two grandparents are hidden.
This was a book I had as a kid that I never got around to reading. It was pretty good - very wordy and with page-long paragraphs but it didn't slow me down in reading it. The author does a good job convincingly placing Margaret in a huge jet, yet really being all alone because she's a kid surrounded by grown-ups. There's just enough uncertainty - is Margaret correct that there are smugglers on the plane? - to keep the story moving along nicely.
My copy is titled "Fly Into Danger" but it has this picture on the front.
This was a book I had as a kid that I never got around to reading. It was pretty good - very wordy and with page-long paragraphs but it didn't slow me down in reading it. The author does a good job convincingly placing Margaret in a huge jet, yet really being all alone because she's a kid surrounded by grown-ups. There's just enough uncertainty - is Margaret correct that there are smugglers on the plane? - to keep the story moving along nicely.
My copy is titled "Fly Into Danger" but it has this picture on the front.
October 6, 2025
3.5 stars
A classic case of not judging a book by its cover. This is the drabbest, most beige paperback you've ever seen, and I wasn't expecting to like it. But then, I did. Published by Scholastic in the '70s, it's the story of Margaret, a teenager from outback New South Wales, who encounters parrot smugglers on a flight to London to see her mother. The writing is excellent, with evocative descriptions of the Australian bush and other settings. The pacing is on point, and the plot and characters feel authentic. A lovely piece of Australiana with a strong and emotional, but not preachy, environmental conservation message. I will be keeping this one.
'She let the tranquility of the place soak into her as she always did, feeling the beat and rhythm of all the interlocking life in the glade penetrate her own body, harmonize with her own heartbeat. When she sat here she ceased to calculate and plan. Her mind moved to a deeper, more obscure tide.'
A classic case of not judging a book by its cover. This is the drabbest, most beige paperback you've ever seen, and I wasn't expecting to like it. But then, I did. Published by Scholastic in the '70s, it's the story of Margaret, a teenager from outback New South Wales, who encounters parrot smugglers on a flight to London to see her mother. The writing is excellent, with evocative descriptions of the Australian bush and other settings. The pacing is on point, and the plot and characters feel authentic. A lovely piece of Australiana with a strong and emotional, but not preachy, environmental conservation message. I will be keeping this one.
'She let the tranquility of the place soak into her as she always did, feeling the beat and rhythm of all the interlocking life in the glade penetrate her own body, harmonize with her own heartbeat. When she sat here she ceased to calculate and plan. Her mind moved to a deeper, more obscure tide.'
September 22, 2018
With an afterward by the Australian wildlife service, this book seeks to increase awareness about the wild parrot trade. I really enjoyed it as someone who is crazy about birds! An easy and fun read
June 17, 2019
It was fantastic. Heart stopping in places, and readily informs the reader about smuggling without lecturing or breaking the story.
December 14, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews