Book #25 Feathers by Jacqueline WoodsonWoodson begins the book with the following poem by Emily Dickinson:
Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all
I think it was that point that I knew I'd love this book. (That is one of my favorite poems ever!)
Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all
I think it was that point that I knew I'd love this book. (That is one of my favorite poems ever!)
I began reading this just because it was a quiet Sunday and I didn't want to watch tv or do my homework. I didn't imagine I would be reading long. But once I started, I could not put it down. Woodson's language is lyrical, she creates scenes with such poetry. I was amazed by her writing.
Feathers takes place in the winter of 1971. Frannie is a 6th grader. She lives with her parents and deaf older brother on the wrong side of the highway. One day, a tall, skinny white boy with long hair walks into the classroom "white and softly as the snow." He has long hair and soon students begin calling him Jesus Boy. He must stand up to bullying because "there aren't white people on this side of the highway. You didn't notice until one appeared. And then you saw all the brown and light brown everywhere." Frannie's best friend, Samantha, begins fantasizing that this boy may really be Jesus returned to the earth.
Like I've already said, I loved this book. The only problem I see with reading it in a classroom is that Jesus Christ and religion are a central theme. Is that going over the edge? Would I be integrating church and state instead of keeping them completely separate? Other than that aspect, I think it's great for elementary students. It deals with themes of racism, acceptance, hope, love, segregation.
Even if I don't read the entire book, I think I'll read chapter 20 and part of chapter 22 because in each of these sections, Ms. Johnson (the teacher) talks about how each person has memories that he or she can write about and that everyone has a story but some of us are scared to write it and we call that fear writer's block.
It is just a beautifully written book and I recommend reading it for the poetic language alone.
Feathers takes place in the winter of 1971. Frannie is a 6th grader. She lives with her parents and deaf older brother on the wrong side of the highway. One day, a tall, skinny white boy with long hair walks into the classroom "white and softly as the snow." He has long hair and soon students begin calling him Jesus Boy. He must stand up to bullying because "there aren't white people on this side of the highway. You didn't notice until one appeared. And then you saw all the brown and light brown everywhere." Frannie's best friend, Samantha, begins fantasizing that this boy may really be Jesus returned to the earth.
Like I've already said, I loved this book. The only problem I see with reading it in a classroom is that Jesus Christ and religion are a central theme. Is that going over the edge? Would I be integrating church and state instead of keeping them completely separate? Other than that aspect, I think it's great for elementary students. It deals with themes of racism, acceptance, hope, love, segregation.
Even if I don't read the entire book, I think I'll read chapter 20 and part of chapter 22 because in each of these sections, Ms. Johnson (the teacher) talks about how each person has memories that he or she can write about and that everyone has a story but some of us are scared to write it and we call that fear writer's block.
It is just a beautifully written book and I recommend reading it for the poetic language alone.
"Strange how one day you can believe in something. And the next day you don't anymore. And then, when you don't have that thing anymore, you don't have anything." (p.95)
"If I could walk through the world and just touch people and lift their pains right out of their bodies, I'd never stop walking." (p. 60)
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