Walliwigs is a thin and scrawny, strange-looking bird who, after being dumped in Martha's hen yard and ridiculed by all the other birds, is literally taken under Martha's wing and given her unconditional love. Then a visiting ornithologist identifies him as a rare species of parrot.

 

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2000 by Random House Children's Publishers UK .

Joan Rankin studied Graphic Art at the Michaelis School of Art in Cape Town. Her first children's book was published in 1986 and in 1991 she won the Katrine Harries Award for her illustrations.