Hope is the thing with feathers
The title for “Feathers” comes from the Emily Dickinson poem that states: “hope is the thing with feathers” and “Feathers” – one of the Newbery Award’s honorable mention recipients – is a hopeful book. It’s a quick and simple children’s book, spanning fewer than a hundred pages and only a few days in the life of sixth grade Franny, growing up on the “black side of town” in the ’70s. It’s interesting to see the issues of race that arise when a white boy – who says he’s not white – arrives at Franny’s all-black school. I think of the 70’s as having progressed beyond that but this Newbery honors book points out there were still struggles for integration within both black and white communities.
I was happy to see that the book didn’t fall back on race issues as its main theme, which I think can be generic and which too many books seem to rely on. Instead, this Newbery contender tells the story of this new boy through Franny’s eyes, focusing on the typical yet sometimes difficult issues that arise when you’re 11-and-a-half. Franny’s mom is pregnant again after losing three children to either infant death or miscarrage, her older brother is deaf, the school bully is picking on the new kid, and through all of this her best friend just wants her to have hope and faith. But Franny’s not even sure what that means.
As the only white boy in school, kids in this Newbery honor book are calling this newcomer “the Jesus Boy” thanks to his resemblance to Jesus portraits. He’s unshakable, quiet yet strong. Franny’s not sure what to make of him – he’s friendly and a bit precocious … and he keeps saying he’s not white! As she tries to figure out what this all means, the words of Emily Dickinson’s poem come into clearer focus and she has her own experience with Feathers.
More than an edge-of-your-seat book with plot twists and turns, this Newbery narrative will show kids today that many things have changed in the past 40 years, yet quite a few of the struggles they face have been faced before ~ and they can make it through with a little hope, faith, and Feathers.
