When her teacher assigns a report about animals and all the popular animals get snatched up, Ellie McDoodle is stumped for a topic.

Then a neighbor asks Ellie to pet-sit her African gray parrot and it seems her problem is solved.

But when the parrot flies the coop-literally-Ellie has an even bigger problem.

With help from a librarian, a zookeeper, and Ellie's own pet-obsessed family, the bird comes home-but will Ellie finish her report on time?