Bird

"Bird" by Zetta Elliott is an inspiring verse novel about a little boy named Mehkai. Mehkai loves to draw and looks up to his older brother, Marcus who has a passion for graffiti. Drawing is an escape for Mehkai as he mourns the death of his granddad and his older brother's drug addiction. Mehkai is taken under his grandad's best friend, Sonny wing. Sonny acts as a parental figure and friend to Mehkai as they enjoy going to the park together and drawing. This novel mentions real-life struggles and therefore may be better suited for upper elementary students. That being said, I do appreciate the raw and real emotions that is often left out of most children's books. Countless sketched drawings and birds are included on every page show more symbolizing the world young Mehkai is attempting to escape to. Mehkai shows such maturity and resilience that is inspiring for both young and old readers.

Bird won the Honor Award in Lee & Low Books’ New Voices Contest and the Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers show less

Mehkai was nicknamed Bird by his granddad, who passed away the year before. Mehkai got the name because he used to lay in his crib with his mouth wide-open like a baby bird, waiting to be fed. Now his granddad’s best friend, Sonny, has taken over as Bird’s mentor: I like talking to Uncle Son ‘cause he treats me like I’m grown, not like I’m some little kid who can’t understand anything.”

When Bird tells Sonny he wishes he could play the saxophone like Charlie Parker, Sonny told him he had to find his own special talent. And Bird can draw. His brother Marcus taught him.

Marcus used to look out for him, but then he got caught up in the street life. But he still loved his brother enough to forbid him from hanging out with him show more and his friends, "‘It’s not too late for you,’ Marcus would tell me. ‘Stay in school and make Mama proud.’

The last time Mehkai saw Marcus, Marcus was very sick, and mumbled something about needing a fix. But Bird didn’t know how to fix Marcus. No one did.

Bird needs help understanding what happened to Marcus, and Uncle Son explains it to him in words that are clear, and simple, and beautiful, but honest.

Evaluation: This is one of the loveliest most affecting books for children I’ve seen in a long time. It is a fantastic book to help children deal with the loss of a loved one. It has garnered a long list of awards, including the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award, The Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, and ALA Notable Children’s Book. The illustrator, Shadra Strickland, won the 2009 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustrations. Lee & Low recommends this book for children aged 8 and over. show less

This award-winning book deals with two very difficult subjects: death of a beloved grandfather, and death by drug overdose of a brother.

Fortunately, Mehkai, because of his beautiful art work of drawing birds, his nickname is also known as "bird." Losing two very important family members is difficult. Drawing is Mehkai's release from pain. As time goes on, his grandfather's best friend Sonny looks out for him.

When Mehkai told Sonny he would like to play the saxophone like Charlie Parker, Sonny reminds him we are all different and possess varying skills. Bird's skills are incredibly beautiful, and they are the release from pain that he seeks. The illustrations are incredibly detailed, and I will seek additional books illustrated by Shadra show more Strickland. show less

I LOVE this book and all that it stands for! The man character Mehkai is going through hardships that students may face at home and using his art as a release for his emotions and confusion. Between the death of a grandparent and a sibling dabbling into drugs, our main character is forced to take on real-world problems and find a way to cope. I love that he uses art to understand and process such tough topics. This book would be perfect for addressing a class or individual student who has such problems on their radar. "Bird" presents a healthy way for students to address the questions, feelings, and fears that they have through art and creativity.

5Q, 5P, junior - a beautifully written, poignant novel in verse that tells the story of a young boy's coming to terms with the loss of his brother due to a harrowing addiction. Elliott handles Bird's exploration and pain carefully and middle grade readers will be both moved and educated without being shocked. Strickland's illustrations are wonderful and finely-tuned.

Bird by Zetta Elliott is about a boy who loves to draw his urban landscape. His drawing is in part a way to escape the harsh realities of his life and he talks about them with a man he calls uncle.

The book is told in free verse with a mixture of illustration styles: those representing Bird and his world and those Bird has drawn. Bird's drawings are lovely and intricate and remind me of the architectural drawings in My Havana.

But there's a problem with the illustrations of Bird — a sloppiness for which I'm docking two stars. Bird is shown drawing with his right hand on the cover but inside the book he's sometimes drawing left handed and sometimes right handed. It's not a plot point, just lazy drawing.

I really liked this book. It pushes readers to think about tough issues such as death due to overdose. I liked the descriptive language the author used in the story. For example, "we sit on Uncle Son's lumpy sofa and sip our sweet, black coffee." I love black coffee so I made a personal connection because the author added extra descriptive words. I thought that the plot was well paced and organized. The author had the story build up to the death of the main character's brother and showed how the main character dealt with his grief. The illustrations were the best part of this book. The main character is really good at drawing so some of the main details in the illustrations look like someone sketched them. This enhances the story and show more makes the book really enjoyable. show less