Feathers

Starred review from January 8, 2007
Looking forward" is the message that runs through Woodson's (The House You Pass on the Way
) novel. Narrator Frannie is fascinated with Emily Dickinson's poem, "Hope is the thing with feathers/ that perches in the soul," and grapples with its meaning, especially after a white student joins Frannie's all-black sixth-grade classroom. Trevor, the classroom bully, promptly nicknames him "Jesus Boy," because he is "pale and his hair long." Frannie's best friend, Samantha, a preacher's daughter, starts to believe that the new boy truly could be Jesus ("If there was a world for Jesus to need to walk back into, wouldn't this one be it?"). The Jesus Boy's sense of calm and its effect on her classmates make Frannie wonder if there is some truth to Samantha'a musings, but a climactic faceoff between him and Trevor bring the newcomer's human flaws to light. Frannie's keen perceptions allow readers to observe a ripple of changes. Because she has experienced so much sadness in her life (her brother's deafness, her mother's miscarriages) the heroine is able to see beyond it all—to look forward to a time when the pain subsides and life continues. Set in 1971, Woodson's novel skillfully weaves in the music and events surrounding the rising opposition to the Vietnam War, giving this gentle, timeless story depth. She raises important questions about God, racial segregation and issues surrounding the hearing-impaired with a light and thoughtful touch. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)
Agent: Charlotte Sheedy.

Starred review from April 1, 2007
Gr 4-7-"Stepped through that door white and softly as the snow," notes sixth-grader Frannie, on the arrival of a pale, long-haired boy to her predominantly black middle school on a winter day in 1971. He is dubbed the Jesus Boy by the class rowdy, and the name seems to suit the newcomer's appearance and calm demeanor. Frannie is confused, not only by declarations that he's NOT white, but that her friend Samantha, daughter of a conservative Baptist minister, also seems to believe that he "is" Jesus. In light of this and other surprises in her life, Frannie questions her own faith and, most of all, the meaning of the Emily Dickinson poem that she is studying in class, "Hope is a thing with feathers/that perches in the soul/]." How does she maintain hope when her newly pregnant mother has lost three babies already? She also worries about her deaf older brother, Sean, who longs to be accepted in the hearing world. She sees the anger in the bully intensify as he targets Jesus Boy. With her usual talent for creating characters who confront, reflect, and grow into their own persons, Woodson creates in Frannie a strong protagonist who thinks for herself and recognizes the value and meaning of family. The story ends with hope and thoughtfulness while speaking to those adolescents who struggle with race, faith, and prejudice. They will appreciate its wisdom and positive connections."D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2006
There's a lot going on in this small, fast-moving novel that introduces big issues--faith, class, color, prejudice, family, disability, and friendship. Woodson tells her story with immediacy and realism through the stirring first-person narrative of a young girl, Frannie, growing up in 1971. The new boy in school is the only white kid in Frannie's sixth-grade class, and she wonders why he doesn't go to the white school across the highway. He's pleased when some of the kids call him Jesus Boy, and Frannie's devout friend, Samantha, thinks he may be the savior. A few of the boys harass him, especially bullying Trevor--who looks white himself. When the new kid turns out to be far from perfect, Frannie wonders: Was he God's child? Aren't we all? In her loving home, filled with light, hope, and laughter, a deaf older brother has always enriched her life, but Frannie realizes that she still has bridges of prejudice to cross. A good choice for discussion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

July 28, 2008
The narrator of Woodson's 2008 Newbery Honor title is fascinated with Emily Dickinson's famous couplet “Hope is the thing with feathers/ that perches in the soul.” Frannie grapples with its meaning, especially after a white student joins her all-black sixth-grade classroom. Trevor, the classroom bully, nicknames him “Jesus Boy,” because he is “pale and his hair long.” Frannie's best friend, a preacher's daughter, suggests that the new boy truly could be Jesus (“If there was a world for Jesus to need to walk back into, wouldn't this one be it?”). Set in 1971, the book raises important questions about religion and racial segregation, as well as issues surrounding the hearing-impaired (Frannie's brother is deaf). Johnson, who also voiced Woodson's Hush
, sensitively renders Frannie's narration, and her slow delivery affords listeners the opportunity to fully experience Frannie's keen perceptions. Subtle changes in inflections distinguish the many characters' voices in a skillful performance that enlarges the book's already wide appeal. Ages 9–up. A Putnam hardcover.

March 1, 2007
As sixth-grader Frannie puzzles over the meaning of a line from an Emily Dickinson poem, "Hope is the thing with feathers," lots of questions start coming up. What does the music her deaf brother hears sound like? Why is Mama so tired during the day? How come the new white boy in class named Jesus says he's not white, and could he possibly be the Jesus, as Frannie's friend Samantha thinks? How does it feel to have that kind of faith, anyway? Frannie eventually works out her own answers, finding hope not in Samantha's big miracles but in everyday bits of goodness-the "moments" her teacher tells her to write about. Woodson deftly, even lyrically, weaves some large ideas through her story, set in the 1970s during a snowy winter, but as in much of her work it's those small moments-sitting on Grandma's lap one afternoon watching the sky outside turn gray-that linger so profoundly.

(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)