Perico is a Spanish-speaking parrot who wants to leave the pet store where he is kept and find a true home. Trouble is, he goofs up words and phrases, which irritate people who take him home for a trial period. A woman hears Perico say, "agua, agua," and the pet store man tells her he's saying "opera." She returns the bird after he embarrasses her at an evening out at the opera.
Perico is advised to memorize "Polly wants a cracker," which seems to be popular with parrot owners. The next day, he says "mal" which is misinterpreted by a tall man as "the mall." He wants the parrot to learn the line "I am fine today." But after a trip with him, he is not so fine and Perico is back at the pet shop again.
There are two other dissatisfied customers before destiny deals the unhappy parrot a good hand. The boy who bonds with him cherishes his ability to speak both Spanish and English just like him! Hats off to Trudy Harris for this snappy story advocating bilingualism and to Cecilia Rebora for her spunky illustrations.
