Book Review of The Five Birds and the Missing Macaw
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The Children’s Book Review
The Five Birds and the Missing Macaw
Written and Illustrated by Jeff Cortazzo
Ages: 5-10 | 76 Pages
Publisher: Eccentric Music and Art LLC (2025) | ISBN: 978-1732500532
What to Expect: Adventure, narration, rhyming, endangered animals.
Following the adventures of a flock of jungle birds, vibrant illustrations capture the spirit of their journey while immersing readers in the colorful world of the Panamanian jungle.
In The Five Birds and the Missing Macaw, author Jeff Cortazzo has crafted an engaging story that young readers will be drawn to immediately. As five birds set out to find their missing friend, their journey leads them deep into the heart of the jungle, where mysteries await behind every tree. Each clue they discover is wrapped in playful rhyme, adding to the thrill of their adventure —and the readers’. When their trail leads the birds to a hidden laboratory, the friends must work together and use clever tricks and teamwork to outsmart the mad professor and free the captive birds, ensuring everyone’s safe return and the professor’s redemption arc.
With lush full-color illustrations and rhyming quatrains (a stanza of four lines), Cortazzo’s writing style is not only appealing to the ear but also beneficial for language patterns and listening skills. The book also features an original orchestral score that accompanies clear narration, helping readers follow along. This thoughtful integration of music, rhyme, and visuals makes the book both entertaining and educational, fostering literacy and auditory comprehension in a delightful way. Well-designed for pre-readers and early readers, this is the second book in the series and can be read as a standalone.
With dynamic illustrations and a narrated soundtrack, The Five Birds and the Missing Macaw treats readers to a sensory feast and is a perfect storybook for a read-aloud or read-along, well-suited for both a home and classroom book nook.
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About the Author
Jeff Cortazzo has been drawing cartoons ever since he can remember and published a daily internet cartoon from 1999-2003 called Not Quite Right. He has drawn fill art for pamphlets, textbooks and cookbooks in addition to tiny caricatures of orchestra conductors (that often make his trombone section friends spit out their coffee).
Jeff earned his DMA in Music Composition at The Catholic University of America. Over the past 20 years, his original composition commissions have included works for trombone quartet, brass quintet, wind quintet, large trombone ensemble, wind ensemble, orchestra and chorus.
From 1992 until his retirement in 2018, Jeff served his country as bass trombonist of The Army Blues, a component of The U.S. Army Band, Pershing’s Own in Washington D.C. During his time in the Army band, Jeff was inspired to write for the unique sonic capabilities of the wind quintet — a diverse ensemble of instruments that includes flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and french horn. These instruments are the personification of the five birds in Book 1: The Five Birds and the Cat Queen.
Jeff currently plays bass trombone with The National Philharmonic, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, The Capitol Bones and The Washington Symphonic Brass. He is adjunct professor of bass trombone at The Catholic University of America and The Shenandoah Conservatory. When not restocking the myriad bird feeders in his backyard he is at the beck and call of his beloved and demanding furry pets.
For more information, visit fivebirdsadventures.com.
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