The 2010 Willow Awards
Shining Willow Nominee
Bird Child
Eliza desperately wants to help the new girl, Lainey, when a group of children pick on her in the schoolyard. But Eliza feels afraid and powerless to help. As the sun disappears from Lainey’s beautiful paintings Eliza finds her voice and a way to pass along the gifts her mother has given her – “wings to fly” and the ability to see the wonderful possibilities that lie before her.
About the Author
Born in Elmira, Ontario, Nan Forler has degrees in both music and education, and she has taught junior kindergarten through to grade eight for over twenty years. Nan has studied music in Vienna, Italy, traveled through England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and driven coast-to-coast through North America. As a mother and teacher, she encourages her students and her own children to speak out against injustice, both in the schoolyard and in the global community and this is reflected in her first book, Bird Child. She lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
About the Illustrator
For nearly twenty years, François Thisdale has worked as an award-winning freelance illustrator, creating images for children's books, news magazines, corporate reports and book covers for North American and European clients. His multi-textured images are the product of a unique blend of traditional drawing and painting techniques with digital imagery. He is also a musician who has composed soundtracks for short films and art exhibits. François Thisdale lives in Quebec.
Book Reviews
Teacher Resources
Bullying lesson plans and tips for dealing with bullying at Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org/activity/bullies-act-out
http://www.tolerance.org/activity/bullying-tips-students
Interview with author and illustrator:
Ten Questions with Nan Forler and François Thisdale
Activities:
Before Reading:
Do a book walk through the story and predict what the story is about. You can also infer what has happened based on the beautiful illustrations.
During Reading:
Make personal connections to the experiences of the book's characters.
After Reading:
Cut out a picture of your face and paste it on a paper. Draw a picture around it of what you would do when being bullied. Paste both pictures on a poster paper. Then, make into a poster about anti bullying techniques, and place a big X over the picture of being bullied. Hang them around your school.
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