Children's Fiction Activism & Social Justice
Birds on the Brain
- Publisher
- Groundwood Books Ltd
- Initial publish date
- Aug 2024
- Category
- Activism & Social Justice, Birds, Environment
- Recommended Age
- 8 to 12
- Recommended Grade
- 3 to 7
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781773067391
- Publish Date
- Aug 2024
- List Price
- $11.99
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781773069456
- Publish Date
- Aug 2024
- List Price
- $6.99
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781773069449
- Publish Date
- Aug 2024
- List Price
- $16.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
The sequel to the award-winning Book Uncle and Me features bird lover Reeni and her quest to save her city’s bird count event when the mayor tries to shut it down.
Reeni is wild about birds! So when she and her best friend, Yasmin, have to pick a survey topic for a school project, asking their neighbors what they know about birds is an obvious choice. They are shocked to learn that no one — not one single person! — has heard about Bird Count India and the major event it is about to launch all over the country. Thousands of birdwatchers will be out counting birds as part of a global movement. Global means world, and isn’t this city part of the world? How come people don’t seem to care about the threats to city birds? And why is the mayor intentionally thwarting their city’s bird count event?
Reeni and Yasmin enlist help from Book Uncle, Reeni’s family and even their school bus driver. They must get people interested in the bird count, get them to ask the city government to support the event. After all, what’s good for the birds is good for all of us … right?
A funny, triumphant story about learning to advocate for both the human and non-human inhabitants of your community.
Key Text Features
chapters
dialogue
illustrations
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
About the authors
Uma Krishnaswami's inspiration for this book came from her memory of planting a mango seed as a child and seeing it grow into a tree, and also from a news story about people who planted trees in potholes. She has written many children's books, from picture books to middle grade readers to retellings of classic tales and myths, including Bringing Asha Home (CCBC Choices), The Happiest Tree (Paterson Prize finalist, CCBC Choices, Bank Street College Best Books), Naming Maya (IRA Notable Books for a Global Society) and Chachaji's Cup (Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, Bank Street College Best Books). Her latest middle grade novel, The Grand Plan to Fix Everything, published by Atheneum, received starred reviews in Kirkus and School Library Journal. She teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults and is an active blogger. Uma was born in New Delhi, India, and now lives in Aztec, New Mexico.
Uma Krishnaswami's profile page
JULIANNA SWANEY has illustrated numerous books for children, including the first two books in the Book Uncle trilogy: Book Uncle and Me and Birds on the Brain, both written by Uma Krishnaswami. She spends her time at her home in Oregon painting, gardening and daydreaming.
Awards
- Nominated, Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Award
Excerpt: Birds on the Brain (by (author) Uma Krishnaswami; illustrated by Julianna Swaney)
Yasmin and I squeeze past the crooked tree that juts out into the road. It has a sign on it, too. The sign reads Caution. Protruding Tree. …
The protruding tree is often full of parrots, but today the road is super busy. Any sensible parrot would have flown up high, as far away as possible from the crowds. Between the honking of horns and the kreech-kreech of brakes and the voices of people, I can’t hear a single parrot sound. I wonder if they can even hear each other, with so much human noise.
Right then, in the middle of all this wondering, I see something. It wasn’t there this morning. I’m sure of it. It is a new ad plastered across the front of the bus shelter roof. …
As I take a closer look, I see a picture of a lake with a tree in the middle. The sky and the tree and the lake are all full of birds. Where is this place? …
Running along the top are big, beautiful letters. Here is what they say: Bird Count India! Do Your Bit!
Editorial Reviews
Themes of friendship, community, and global well-being run through this slender, quick-paced story.
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
Birds on the Brain is a fast-moving, intricately woven, and largely theme-driven novel ... This book could prove both enriching and empowering.
CM: Canadian Review of Materials
