Daddy Mojo

I teach ESL online and some of the lessons I teach are about holidays. My Fourth of July is an illustrated book by Newbery Medal Winner, Jerry Spinelli with illustrations by Larry Day. Trying to explain to an overseas student via an online class just what The Fourth of July is all about can be challenging. Yeah, it’s about parties, food, fireworks and family, but in the eyes of a seven year-old it’s so much more. The magic of My Fourth of July is that it captures the manic energy, expectations and variety that exemplify the Fourth of July as it’s experienced through the eyes of an elementary school aged child.

The pacing of the book and the layout of the drawings is a huge reason why the book makes such a great read for this age. When the book starts the illustrations are corner to corner color, with the town having their parade and getting ready for the day. After that, things calm down and the colors focus on our main character, a 7 year-old boy who is getting ready for the day with his family.  The pictures have him as the focal point of each page, with lots of white space on the pages. This effect helps establish the low key morning that any family experiences during the morning.

As late afternoon rolls around the pages are swallowed up by more colors and action. The masses gather at the baseball field for cookouts and shows until the child eventually starts to get sleepy. Hang in there, because the fireworks are bound to start any second.  The art will remind parents of Norman Rockwell, yet this display of the Fourth of July happens in modern times. When in doubt, look for the adults on their cell phones, they can be seen in the book on a page or two.

My Fourth of July has a classic feel about it because the happenings and activities that small communities do on this day are still relatively the same. There’s a parade in the morning, activities at various places and fireworks someplace at night. As a book, elementary school readers will enjoy it because they’ll be able to relate to something on every page. If they like the face painter then they’ll have a fond memory of that on one page. The local bands is shown, the classic wagon that kids will be pulled in also has several pages devoted to it.

The text in My Fourth of July is such that third graders and up will be able to fluently read it. Those readers who are younger will know all of the sight words, learn a couple new phrases and remember last year’s Fourth when they did something similar to what happened in the book.  My Fourth of July retails for $18.99 and is Neal Porter Books and Holiday House Publishing, Inc.

Twice a year, each year I get insomnia for a couple of nights. It’s due to the spring or fall allergies and I just can’t sleep. This year the spring incarnation of this sleepless paradise snuck up on me and my usual cadre of new science-fiction books were nowhere to be seen. Close to the nightstand was Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark McGinnis. From the cover it didn’t seem like the kind of book I would seek out, but you know how the saying goes. True to form, Extraordinary Birds completely defied my expectations and left me concerned, hopeful and wondering if December really is able to fly.

Extraordinary Birds starts out with December, a teen aged girl talking to herself. She’s also high up in a tree.

First thought: she’s suicidal, this book isn’t for me.

However, just as I think that we learn that her foster mother is talking to her and trying to convince her that she is not able to fly.

Second thought: she’s a superhero-this book is like Glass and she’s the Samuel L. Jackson character.

No, it turns out that December has done this before. She’s bounced from foster home to foster home and believes that she has the physical ability to fly like a bird. It’s just that her bird parts haven’t developed or her mental processes haven’t broken through the plane that allows her to transcend what most believe is a reality.

However, her penchant for frustrating foster homes has broken another potential forever home and she’s dispatched to live with Eleanor. She seems like a nice lady, but December has been through this rodeo before so she’s just biding her time until she’s 18 or her bird lady parts develop, whichever comes first.

Eleanor is a different type of foster parent. She gives December her space, allows her to develop her own personality and lives on farm. Eleanor also volunteers at an animal rescue organization.

Third thought: Eleanor brings out December’s inner superpowers.

No, just stop I told myself. Extraordinary Birds lives up to the first name in its title because it plays things very close to the vest and does not go for the cheap story line. This is a well paced and beautifully told story about growing up, being slightly different and trying to figure out the world.

Fourth thought: this is an aviary version of The Breakfast Club.

No, just stop and reread the third thought I had to remind myself. This is a great book that made me not want to go to sleep, despite my insomnia. Alas, true to form, I read for about two hours and then fell asleep with a book on my chest. However, this session of insomnia was different; I didn’t mind not sleeping as I was in good company.

The lessons and morals in Extraordinary Birds will be appropriate for upper elementary school readers. Most likely its sweet spot are those middle school readers who want to get lost in a great book about growing up and learning about how to navigate those mental images and feelings that you think nobody else will understand.