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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
Reviewing this book for what it is...a book written by a 12 year old non-native English speaker. It's good vs evil in bird world with enough action to keep the story moving along. The illustrations are a delightful addition and help make the book feel more accessible to a younger audience. Overall, for what it is, I would comfortably recommend this to upper elementary through early middle school ages. There is no questionable content to be wary of, and it is a quick, understandable, and imaginative application of the struggle against tyrannical rulers.
I read about half and decided to come back to it later. I feel pretty much the same way as I do book one. It's not bad, just maybe not for me.
Why would you need to make sense of what birds talking about catching blue jays and cardinals unaware and making them slaves means? And you have to think so hard about it you give up? That part irked me a bit. š
If you also don't really like slow-paced, low action books, maybe try something else.
Why would you need to make sense of what birds talking about catching blue jays and cardinals unaware and making them slaves means? And you have to think so hard about it you give up? That part irked me a bit. š
If you also don't really like slow-paced, low action books, maybe try something else.
This book made me really admire the imagination and writerly spirit of its author Nancy Yi Fan, who was only 12 at the time of publication. She grew up in the same era as me and is about the same age, and I always dreamed of writing an adventure story about animals just like this one. It was wonderful to revisit that part of my childhood through her story, with plot lines and animal characters reminiscent of The Guardians of GaāHoole, Warriors, and Redwall books I loved back then.
The story and writing are a bit simple for adult readers, but this book brought me some brand new nostalgia and reminded me that children are more perceptive and creative than we often imagine. It was nice to see a small glimpse into that world again.
The story and writing are a bit simple for adult readers, but this book brought me some brand new nostalgia and reminded me that children are more perceptive and creative than we often imagine. It was nice to see a small glimpse into that world again.
Swordbird was this month's pick by one of the kids for their book club. They were all very excited because it was written by a (then) 12-year-old Nancy Yi Fan, which brings it that much closer to home for a group of budding authors.
Honestly, the book wasn't bad. I can definitely see the appeal for the kids, and I recommended it to the middle school reading intervention teacher that I work with. Both the chapters and the sentences are short and easy to follow. The characters have a clear and common goal and work hard together to meet the goal. Everybird is appropriately brave, clever, or evil based on stereotypes and need.
Again, not a bad book, but does not transend the juvenile catagorization to make a good adult book.
Honestly, the book wasn't bad. I can definitely see the appeal for the kids, and I recommended it to the middle school reading intervention teacher that I work with. Both the chapters and the sentences are short and easy to follow. The characters have a clear and common goal and work hard together to meet the goal. Everybird is appropriately brave, clever, or evil based on stereotypes and need.
Again, not a bad book, but does not transend the juvenile catagorization to make a good adult book.
We needed something to listen to on the drive to and from Flagstaff over the weekend, this was the perfect length AND featured birds (bonus!). For a book by an 11-year-old, it was OK. Surprisingly violent for a book that was purportedly written because the kid-author wanted peace. Even more surprising, these birds drink beer and wine that they make themselves!
The above quote took me out of the story. Blue jays are definitely bigger and bulkier than cardinals (and louder) according to [b:The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America|25852757|The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America|David Allen Sibley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445791757l/25852757._SY75_.jpg|27485] and many other sources because I was trying to give this kid every opportunity to be correct. Maybe she's not talking about Blue Jays, but a blue jay (no caps) -- they're all still bigger, coming in at a length of 11-13 inches (nearly double the weight!). A Northern Cardinal is around 8-9 inches in length.
But then in the acknowledgements, the tween author discusses her lifelong love of birds and well...I'm doubting that considering she got the sizes so very wrong. Maybe in this world all the birds are different sizes than they are in our world -- and if that's the case: cool. But why were all the illustrations of birds that look just like Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, and Robins in our world?
The kid reviews on Common Sense Media are gold. My favorite from a kid posted 15 years ago, "All the parents say it is a great book for KIDS but the kids say it is a horrible book including me, just shows how much parents know about their kids...." With my second favorite stating, "they're use the same drawings on every other page, and the plot makes no sense. Second of all the author is SO pretentious and it showed throughout the entire book. She thinks this book is so good... in the afterwords where sheās like āI was a mere child of ten when I wrote this book and my favorite song is FĆ¼r Eliseā like come on."
What's really nuts is that there are two more books in this world, it's cool that publishers were willing to publish a book by a kid, but should they?
"Fighters from both sides were getting tired. The blue jays were light and agile in build, while the cardinals were muscular and heavy-framed."
The above quote took me out of the story. Blue jays are definitely bigger and bulkier than cardinals (and louder) according to [b:The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America|25852757|The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America|David Allen Sibley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445791757l/25852757._SY75_.jpg|27485] and many other sources because I was trying to give this kid every opportunity to be correct. Maybe she's not talking about Blue Jays, but a blue jay (no caps) -- they're all still bigger, coming in at a length of 11-13 inches (nearly double the weight!). A Northern Cardinal is around 8-9 inches in length.
But then in the acknowledgements, the tween author discusses her lifelong love of birds and well...I'm doubting that considering she got the sizes so very wrong. Maybe in this world all the birds are different sizes than they are in our world -- and if that's the case: cool. But why were all the illustrations of birds that look just like Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, and Robins in our world?
The kid reviews on Common Sense Media are gold. My favorite from a kid posted 15 years ago, "All the parents say it is a great book for KIDS but the kids say it is a horrible book including me, just shows how much parents know about their kids...." With my second favorite stating, "they're use the same drawings on every other page, and the plot makes no sense. Second of all the author is SO pretentious and it showed throughout the entire book. She thinks this book is so good... in the afterwords where sheās like āI was a mere child of ten when I wrote this book and my favorite song is FĆ¼r Eliseā like come on."
What's really nuts is that there are two more books in this world, it's cool that publishers were willing to publish a book by a kid, but should they?
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My roommate left this in the living room so I read it, don't judge
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was my Absolute favorite book as a child and with trying to read so many books this year, I just knew I had to give it a reread. The nostalgia is crazy with this one. Overall great childrenās book
a simple story - I look forward to see where this story teller goes in the future. Clearly the beginnings of a master bard if she continues to develop her skills.
