There is Hari, the narrator with his Indian Ma and Nani. They live in Apartment 2.
Lily-Rosa a dynamic girl and her little brother Champ, live with her Chinese mother and Hungarian father. They live is Apartment 1.
Mikey the dinky-di, funny, inventive boy and his dad the builder, live with their Mum who is expecting a new baby. They live in Apartment 3. Mikey loves his cap with googly eyes.
Three different characters. Three different families. The kids are the best gang as they confront their arch enemy, the back neighbour Mr Crabtree.
It is the first time for many kids and adults are invited to experience Hinduism and Asian cultural traditions. It’s the first time kids know what is a cabbage roll. It’s the first time kids know a dumpling comes from China and India. Parrot Palace gets under the skin of discrimination and works out ways to play, relate and celebrate inclusion.
As an Ambassador for Australia, Susanne Gervay OAM has embraced the country acknowledging the traditional owners of the land who have lived here for 65,000 years. The new Australian citizens are welcomed by an acknowledgement to country and an indigenous performance. They come from countries such as Brazil, Taiwan, Philippines, India, Ireland, Vietnam, China, UK, USA, Ukraine, even Hungary and everywhere. Like many, Susanne’s family were Hungarian refugees, who escaped war and terrorism. That is why Lily-Rose has a Hungarian father and her mother is Chinese just like Susanne’s niece. Like many from Asia, people fled from violence. Others came for a new life in a democratic multi-cultural nation. Others came for work or opportunity. Others came for safety, adventure and peace.
It is all there in Susanne’s Parrot Palace.
“Parrot Palace is an open invitation from the heart to step into a multi-hued, multicultural, inclusive world where difference is celebrated, tradition is valued, and the language of love is spoken. It certainly does ‘make the world a better place!’ A Must-Read!”
Professor Meenakshi Bharat, Literature University of Delhi, India
“An amazing story that brings India and Australia closer together, celebrates human relationship which doesn’t change from one side of the Indian Ocean to the other and fosters ‘dosti’ (friendship) between the two great nations.”
Indranil Halder Ambassador of FOMA Multicultural Australia
“What a beautiful book for our children growing up in Australia to treasure and appreciate. Parrot Palace takes me on an amazing journey to what the modern generation of young people want most: love, caring and sharing, irrespective of who you are and where you come from. It also reminds me dearly of the many things my friends and I did in my own childhood days: we shared (food with each other), cared (about each other), and were loved (by our friends, parents and elders) in order to survive a famine that seemed omnipresent, let alone being devastating. To me, Parrot Palace aptly illustrates the essence of humanity: love, care, and sharing what we have for the common good of the community we live in. I strongly recommend it to all our children growing up in Australia.”
Dr Andrew Kwong, Winner of the Michael Crouch Award, National Biography Award
“The Parrot Palace story is very relatable and entertaining. I read it to my 8 year old son and he enjoyed it thoroughly. He found it adventurous and loved how the kids helped Mr Crabtree in spite of him being mean to them. That’s a life lesson. The story reminded me of my childhood days and my playmates. Simple happiness, sorrows and the community feeling was so refreshing that it has the power of transporting readers down memory lane.”
Neel Banerjee (নীল ব্যানার্জী) Intercultural Theatre Practitioner
“Sweet as a jalebi and heartwarming as apple pie, Parrot Palace is a moving and exciting story of childhood, friendship, neighbourliness and forgiveness. Growing up, some of my best friends were books, and how I wish I’d had a friend and a book like this, reflecting the true, warm, beating heart of Australian multicultural diversity. Hari and his friends will stay with you long after you’ve left Parrot Palace.”
Sunil Badami critic, broadcaster, ABC personality