Max the Bad Talking Parrot is a children’s picture book about neighbors, friendship, miscommunication, crime, and rhyming. The story begins with Mrs. Goosebumps who works the night shift at a ticket booth. Mrs. Goosebumps is lonely and visits her neighbor Tellie, and her pet Parrot Max every morning. Each morning Mrs. Goosebumps greets Tellie and Max saying “ Hello dearies.” Max is a talking parrot who rhymes everything when he speaks. Mrs. Goosebumps and Max have a routine in which Max hangs up Mrs. Goosebumps hat then says, “Do sit in the wicker By the big old tock-ticker.” One morning discussion Max overhears Mrs. Goosebumps say that he is and ugly bird. Max avoids Mrs. Goosebumps from this point on and also uses silly rhymes that are not too polite. Tellie and Mrs. Goosebumps begin to avoid Max because of his rude behavior. One night a robber steals Max and several other items from Tellie’s apartment. The robber comes across Mrs. Goosebumps Ticket booth and Max begins to rhyme several phrases that the robber tries to cover up. Finally Max repeats his morning phrase, “Do sit in the wicker By the big old tock-ticker.” This leads to Mrs. Goosebumps calls the police and the robber is caught. Max is so thankful to Mrs. Goosebumps as she rescued him, and then he remembers why he was avoiding her. Max shares his feelings with Mrs. Goosebumps finding out that she said he was a snugly bird not an ugly bird. ( )

This is a mildly entertaining story about a parrot who mishears one of his friends. He thought she called him 'ugly' when she actually said 'snugly'. With this misunderstanding, the parrot, Max, becomes very rude. He speaks in rhyme, but his rhymes become insulting and mean. He eventually foils a robbery and the misunderstanding is cleared and everyone ends up happy. This book is good because kids love to hear stories that are in rhyme. However, the story itself was not very engaging and I really would not end up recommending it for children to read on their own. ( )