The Girl with the Parrot on Her Head is a great story about friendships. Isabel's best friend Simon moves away and Isabel feels empty and upset. Isabel decides to box up all of her imaginary creations and toys. Eventually she meets Chester who she now plays her favorite imaginary games with. The book does a great job at discussing the causes and effects of built up emotions. Isabel's fears, and sadness turned into a big scary wolf that would come out at night; it wasn't until she faced her emotions and “freed the wolf” that Isabel was happy again

2017 Ezra Jack Keats Book Award.

The author lives in London.

Australia. Originally published in English by Walker Books in 2015. Published in the United States by Candlewick Press in 2016.

From a remarkable new talent comes an honest and endearing story about losing a best friend, daring to make a new one, and the power of imagination.

Isabel has a best friend named Simon, who is very good with newts. But one day Simon moves away in a truck and never comes back. For a while Isabel hates everything and decides it's better to be by herself. After all, she has a parrot who likes to sit on her head, and she has a system, sorting all the things in her room into boxes. But now she faces a new problem: the parrot worries about the box that is full of wolves, and Isabel secretly worries too. Can Chester, a boy who has a way with umbrellas and sticky tape, help? With simple illustrations full of touching, kid-friendly details, Daisy Hirst's debut picture book is sure to make many new friends.