Scarlett Red

About the Book

After a failed attempt to fly, a fledgling female cardinal is saved from the jaws of a cat and brought into the home of a family living on Florida's coast. Raised with an eyedropper and a great deal of loving care, the tiny bird encounters many adventures in her young life, including a three-day ordeal outdoors during an intense winter storm, during which she nearly dies before the family finds her and brings her indoors again. Later when she answers the mating call of a male redbird on the other side of the patio's screen, the family attempts to lure her to his side outdoors, but instead the male chooses to come inside the patio to live with her there. She builds a nest, and together the pair rides out a hurricane, as she hunkers lower on her three tiny speckled eggs while her mate stands by on the branch above the nest. Her name is Scarlett, his name is Red, and the story reaches a happy ending with the arrival of the pair's first-hatched baby bird.

About the Author

Shirley Dowling, the author and illustrator of SCARLETT RED, is a native Floridian. She is the published author of a mainstream novel, LOVE NEEDS NO REASON (Avon Books, New York City, 50,000 copies sold), and of dozens of magazine articles sold in Florida’s Tampa Bay Area. SCARLETT RED is her first venture into children’s’ literature. Prior to her retirement, she enjoyed a full career in retail advertising as a writer, artist and Florida Broadcast Director for Belk, a large chain of department stores in the southeastern United States. The mother of two daughters and grandmother of two granddaughters, she is nearing completion of another mainstream novel. She lives and works on the coast of west central Florida.