Feathers

My 4th grade class was completely riveted each day that I read this novel to them. I decided to use it as the Beginning of the Year Read Aloud and I am so happy that I did. It was inspiring and my students could totally relate to the characters. I personally think it is one of my favorite children's novels and it's very heartwarming to see that it has more rave reviews than negative reviews!! I think it's all about who reads it, how it's read, and what you interpret. Jacqueline Woodson is by far not writing on a one dimensional level. We have to teach our students to read beneath the surface and really dissect literature to get at the real meanings and goals the writer has. This was quite enjoyable for all of us!

Woodson, from a child's point of view, paints a poignant picture of an adolescent's personal search for hope, intermingling relationships and experiences of the characters' lives. Frannie's thoughts betray a maturity beyond her age. This novel is a realistic view into the heart of its characters. This beautiful, heartfelt story of hope addresses the needs of the new kid in school, those living on the "wrong side" of town, prejudices of racism, fear and sadness of loss in a family who has experienced death, pain and poverty, and the silent world of a deaf person. Feathers touches the soul of the reader who is seeking hope, looking for the goodness in others and contemplating that "maybe there's a little bit of Jesus inside of all of us."

This is a great book to read to students in grades 5 & 6. It is all about how we should treat each other, regardless of color, and everyone needs to hear that. Many worthwhile discussions will follow.

Feathers--fine strands intricately connected to make something soft and beautiful, shimmering and uplifting. The musical language and the deliciously real detail would be enough, but the soul of this story is Frannie. She's not smart or pretty or graceful. She's not particularly poetic. She's certainly not religious. But she's good. She looks past what's peculiar and prickly to find those basic human connections that help her to do the right thing. Thanks, Jacqueline Woodson, for introducing us to Frannie and that Jesus Boy. In them we can all find hope. Readers who like Feathers might also like Danger, Long Division, in which another good kid, age 11, develops new perspectives on mean kids, friendship and family.

In January of 1971, eleven-year-old Frannie lives contentedly with her parents and deaf older brother, Sean, in an apartment on the "wrong" side of the highway. "There weren'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." Suddenly, a tall, skinny white boy with long hair appears in Frannie's sixth-grade class. His classmates decide that he looks like the pictures of Jesus and start calling him the "Jesus Boy." Frannie's best friend Samantha, whose father is a "fire-and brimstone" preacher according to Frannie's mother, seems especially taken with the "Jesus Boy, " and begins to fantasize that he might be Jesus returned to earth. While the "Jesus Boy" must stand up to enormous bullying from his male classmates, which Frannie deplores, she becomes quite interested in him and is mystified that he knows how to "sign," which is how she communicates with her beloved brother. In this excellent, slice-of life story, the author explores, through Frannie's eyes, many facets of growing up.The likable Frannie learns to deal with religious ideas, racism, the meaning of friendship, familial love, and plain old - but never simple - milk of human kindness.