Minnie's Pet Parrot

Minnie Lee's love of animals fills her days at a comfortable country home, where her parents encourage her curiosity about birds and beasts. Among the family's pets is Miss Poll, a silver-gray parrot with a scarlet tail and a taste for praise. She learns tunes, calls to the dog, and greets Minnie when the child prepares to go out. Minnie also listens eagerly as her father reads animal stories from the illustrated books in his library.

Madeline Leslie combines this family story with anecdotes about other parrots, presenting natural history through their voices, habits, and relationships with people. One account describes a bird imitating solemn household sounds; another scene lets Poll interrupt a visitor's gossip with an apparently doubtful remark. The author's stated aim is to encourage kindness toward animals. Readers interested in older children's fiction will find a blend of domestic comedy, moral teaching, and close attention to the household pet.