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A review by gymnerdreader
Bird by Zetta Elliott
5.0
Annotated Bibliography Entry: Bird by Zetta Elliott (FREE CHOICE)
Summary:
Mehkai (AKA Bird) is dealing with some pretty heavy real world issues, such as his brother, Marcus's passing due to his drug addiction and his granddad shortly thereafter. To cope with this trauma, Bird loses himself in drawing and spending time with his granddad's friend, Sonny (AKA Uncle Son) who makes him feel as if he has a voice and is not just a kid. what follows is a heartbreaking story of a boy who seemed to have an idyllic family until his brother's drug addiction became so severe they had to kick him out of the house. All in all, it is a book about picking up the pieces left behind when a loved one dies, especially a loved one that you wish you could have saved. The book ends with Bird taking comfort in seeing the birds and how close they are to heaven, knowing that Marcus and his granddad are together again healthy and free of worry.
Personal Response:
Never would have imagined this type of subject being written about in children's books as this type of subject is often taboo in books today. Even though it is an incredibly sensitive subject, it was beautifully written. It is almost poetic in the way the words flow together, they pack a punch and it definitely is a read that will tear at your heart strings. While I love the writing, I also loved the metaphors in the book, such as the birds standing for freedom and healing and I love that this book focused on coping strategies for dealing with this type of trauma, such as using art as a way of healing. Definitely a book more suitable for older kids (4th or 5th grade), but a book that I think needs to be talked about because of the topics that it explores!
Descriptions of Illustrations:
The illustrations in this book are so lifelike and makes the story come to life with its juxtaposition of light and dark colors and its use of neon colors to bring light into a dark space (such as Marcus' graffiti and his hat). When you read the words and look at the accompanying illustrations, you feel the pain the characters felt etc and you feel connected to Marcus and the world around him. The pictures contribute to that sense of heartbreak and I don't think the story would pack the same punch had the illustrations had not been done in this particular way. Just a beautiful story in terms of writing and illustrations, a perfect combo!
Classroom Connections:
As mentioned above, this book is more suitable for the older grades (4th or 5th) due to the heavy subject matter, but I do feel like it is an important book to share with stories because you never know what students are dealing with at home, whether it is death in the family, losing a loved one or a drug addiction. I could see students dealing with any of these things being able to connect with this story and I feel that it is important to bring awareness into addiction, rather than pretend that problems like this don't exist. I also think this book would be a good book to introduce older students to metaphors since this book contains metaphors throughout, such as the bird representing different things. Students could pick out the metaphors and discuss their various meanings as a class discussion. Teachers could also use this book as a way to get their own students to open up about their lives through art. Students could create artwork to express their feelings and use metaphors to describe that feeling. Bird is a great book to use to introduce students to these topics!
Summary:
Mehkai (AKA Bird) is dealing with some pretty heavy real world issues, such as his brother, Marcus's passing due to his drug addiction and his granddad shortly thereafter. To cope with this trauma, Bird loses himself in drawing and spending time with his granddad's friend, Sonny (AKA Uncle Son) who makes him feel as if he has a voice and is not just a kid. what follows is a heartbreaking story of a boy who seemed to have an idyllic family until his brother's drug addiction became so severe they had to kick him out of the house. All in all, it is a book about picking up the pieces left behind when a loved one dies, especially a loved one that you wish you could have saved. The book ends with Bird taking comfort in seeing the birds and how close they are to heaven, knowing that Marcus and his granddad are together again healthy and free of worry.
Personal Response:
Never would have imagined this type of subject being written about in children's books as this type of subject is often taboo in books today. Even though it is an incredibly sensitive subject, it was beautifully written. It is almost poetic in the way the words flow together, they pack a punch and it definitely is a read that will tear at your heart strings. While I love the writing, I also loved the metaphors in the book, such as the birds standing for freedom and healing and I love that this book focused on coping strategies for dealing with this type of trauma, such as using art as a way of healing. Definitely a book more suitable for older kids (4th or 5th grade), but a book that I think needs to be talked about because of the topics that it explores!
Descriptions of Illustrations:
The illustrations in this book are so lifelike and makes the story come to life with its juxtaposition of light and dark colors and its use of neon colors to bring light into a dark space (such as Marcus' graffiti and his hat). When you read the words and look at the accompanying illustrations, you feel the pain the characters felt etc and you feel connected to Marcus and the world around him. The pictures contribute to that sense of heartbreak and I don't think the story would pack the same punch had the illustrations had not been done in this particular way. Just a beautiful story in terms of writing and illustrations, a perfect combo!
Classroom Connections:
As mentioned above, this book is more suitable for the older grades (4th or 5th) due to the heavy subject matter, but I do feel like it is an important book to share with stories because you never know what students are dealing with at home, whether it is death in the family, losing a loved one or a drug addiction. I could see students dealing with any of these things being able to connect with this story and I feel that it is important to bring awareness into addiction, rather than pretend that problems like this don't exist. I also think this book would be a good book to introduce older students to metaphors since this book contains metaphors throughout, such as the bird representing different things. Students could pick out the metaphors and discuss their various meanings as a class discussion. Teachers could also use this book as a way to get their own students to open up about their lives through art. Students could create artwork to express their feelings and use metaphors to describe that feeling. Bird is a great book to use to introduce students to these topics!