How to Heal a Broken Wing

by Bob Graham, Bob Graham (Illustrator)

Overview

“Such a visual piece . . . readers young and old will return to the story to look more deeply; they won’t be disappointed.” — Booklist (starred review)

In a city full of hurried people, only young Will notices the bird lying hurt on the ground. With the help of his sympathetic mother, he gently wraps the injured bird and takes it home. Wistful and uplifting in true Bob Graham fashion, here is a tale of possibility — and of the souls who never doubt its power.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763698416
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	07/18/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

  

Editorial Reviews

Quietly, effectively, Graham tells the simple story of a boy who finds a fallen bird and nurses it back to health. The text is minimal...the art has effectively utilized the oversize format, filling it with full-page pictures, vertical and horizontal strips, and cartoon-style boxes in cloudy hues…Because this is such a visual piece…readers, young and old, will return to the story to look more deeply; they won’t be disappointed.
—Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

The simplicity of Graham's story contains a surprising power.
—The New York Times

Julie Just

"High above the city, no one heard the soft thud of feathers against glass," begins Graham ("Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate). And no one notices the wounded pigeon that falls to the sidewalk-until Will comes along. In this sparsely worded story, Will and his parents nurse the pigeon to health and then release him back into the sky. Graham breaks his watercolor-and-ink cartoons into full-bleed spreads and large and small comics-like panels, enabling him to dwell on each moment of tender loving care and to preach patience: the "x"s entered on a wall calendar and a series of drawings depicting the phases of the moon show readers that the pigeon's recovery takes a good month. The solemnity and earnestness with which the family goes about the task may exasperate some grown-ups; it's a pigeon, after all. But many readers will savor the way Will's parents unquestioningly rally around him, and appreciate the opportunity to imagine themselves as selfless healers. Ages 5-up. (Aug.)

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Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 2

Poignantly told and visually rich, this narrative flies high. When a pigeon breaks its wing, no one notices except Will. Sporting a bright red jacket, starkly contrasted against his drab surroundings, he and his parents take the injured creature into their home. Clean lines and effective panels showcase its steady recovery, readily receiving encouragement from the family along the way. Graham's succinct text masterfully reveals the bird's resilience. "A loose feather can't be put back/but a broken wing can sometimes heal." Pen, watercolor, and chalk illustrations add depth to this tender tale as the injured bird wistfully watches a flock of flyers outside Will's window. Exemplary use of color and perspective denote shifting moods, and thin lines enhance the vulnerability of this boy and his bird. Gently expressed and honestly delivered, this quiet, yet powerful story provides young readers with an affirming conclusion.-Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayatteville, NC

School Library Journal

Captioned by brief phrases that sometimes give way to entirely wordless pages or spreads, this spare episode celebrates the spirit of compassion in a small child. Crowds of passersby step over an injured pigeon on the sidewalk, but young Will picks it up and makes his mother carry it home. He and his solicitous parents bandage and care for the bird, but will it ever heal? "With rest . . . and time . . . and a little hope . . . a bird may fly again," is Graham's reassuring message, and so it proves on the final spread when the released patient soars into the sky. Will's bright red jacket makes it easy to pick him out amid the paler-hued pedestrians and tall skyscrapers, which unfold in sequential panels and full-page spreads, the illustrator's "camera" displaying masterful control over pacing and perspective. This isn't as personal as Matteo Pericoli's True Story of Stellina (2006), but it will draw a younger audience, and is imbued with the same sensitivity and sense of intimacy. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews