One main theme of Blackbird Fly is that being different isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes it’s a gift. It’s OK not to blend in with the crowd. You don’t have to always be the same as everyone else. The author made the passion of the characters so strong. Feelings jumped off every page! It was also a little funny at times. You would immediately feel trust, sympathy, and compassion for Apple. Apple’s mother is always raging about American ways and choices and friends. It makes Apple wonder, if her mom is always talking about how much nicer or more friendly or healthy the Philippines are, why did she move her to America? This book is a cliffhanger and will deeply impact your emotions.
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Activity OneThe Today Show rated Blackbird Fly as one of the top 6 books to teach your child to be nicer human beings. Click on the link above and see what the other five books are. Read through their descriptions and then pick one other book that you think you would like to read. Put the name of the book on a piece of paper, then tell me why you choose that particular book. If you want to, you can see if your library actually has the book, read it, then evaluate it for me. Do you think we could be kinder by reading certain books?
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Activity TwoThere’s a lotta music in BLACKBIRD FLY. You probably figured that out. Twelve-year-old Apple Yengko loves music. She listens to the Beatles so often that she considers them the soundtrack to her life (and let’s face it, her life isn’t going very well). Perhaps you’re a Beatles novice, or you only recognized a few songs in the book, or you didn’t recognize any. Whatever the case, below are some of the songs referenced throughout #blackbirdfly. Follow the links, take a listen, and love them as much as Apple does.
1. Blackbird, The Beatles 2. Sunshine Life for Me, Ringo Starr 3. Let it Be, The Beatles 4. For No One, The Beatles 5. Across the Universe, The Beatles Send me a short email telling me which song you liked the best and why. [email protected] |
Activity ThreeImagine that you’re standing in front of a closed door.
Someone tells you to walk through it and pick the one that doesn’t belong. You walk through. Scan the room. You see a girl. She has slanted eyes, black hair, a natural tan. She’s a bit scrawny, if you wanna know the truth. There, you say. That’s the one. Have you ever been "The One," that gets pointed at, talked about, embarrassed? Tell me how that situation made you feel. You can write a half page description, or you can make a video describing it to me. Whatever you do, make sure you don't feel left out with this activity, you are now THE ONE!! (That's a good thing in this case!) |