– Customer review on 27/08/2006

Old Blue tells the remarkable and moving story of how the rarest bird in the world, the Chatham Islands Black Robin, was rescued and brought back from the edge of extinction in the nineteen eighties.
In the spring of 1970 the Black Robin was so rare that there were only twenty birds left in the world. The numbers continued to dwindle until there were only five of these little birds left. Two of the five were females and neither of them had been able to breed and raise a chick.
Then unexpectedly, one of the females, named Blue for the colour of the band with which she was tagged, changed partners. This was remarkable in itself as Black Robins mate for life. Blue laid eggs and then the Wildlife Service (now DOC) moved in!
They shuffled eggs and chicks around, using warblers and tomtits as surrogate parents and managed to persuade Blue to lay more eggs. This went on for several seasons, until the Black Robin was brought back from the brink of extinction.
Old Blue, the Rarest Bird in the World tells this extraordinary story to children in beautiful language and exquisite pictures., The author, Mary Taylor, is a former teacher and professional artist.
The book won the “Aim Non-Fiction Award” in 1994. It is a poignant story told in a stirring way. When we read it we couldn’t help but think that here was God’s divine intervention in the life of a little bird. I think it is a very special book; deserving a place on any bookshelf.