Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Woodburn Public Library | CUEVAS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J Fic Cuevas, M. 2014 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stayton Public Library | JF CUEVAS | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The magical and moving story of a bird like boy who longs to fly.
Ten-year-old Nashville doesn't feel like he belongs with his family, in his town, or even in this world. He was hatched from an egg his father found on the sidewalk and has grown into something not quite boy and not quite bird. Despite the support of his loving family, Nashville wishes more than anything that he could join his fellow birds up in the sky. The trouble is- He hasn't grown wings, which must surely make his dream impossible.
And yet, in this lyrical novel with the feel of a timeless fable, Michelle Cuevas manages to convince us that, actually, anything is possible.
'This is an impossibly lovely tale - but then, as Nashville, the soaring heart of this exquisite novel, learns, nothing is impossible when you follow your dreams. Beyond the Laughing Sky is a triumph.' Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan
Author Notes
Michelle Cuevas graduated from Williams College and holds a master of fine arts in creative writing from the University of Virginia. She lives in Massachusetts, and is the author of The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant . This is her second book.
Julie Morstad is an award-winning illustrator and artist. She lives with her family in Vancouver, B.C.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-Ten-year-old Nashville was hatched from an egg his father found on the sidewalk one day. Although he has feathers on his head and a beak for a nose, Nashville is a regular boy. Living in a house perched in the branches of the largest pecan tree in the village of Goosepimple, Nashville constantly feels as though he doesn't belong. He longs for the tops of trees, the cloudless skies, and the stars. Countless people have pointed and laughed at him over the years, making him feel as if he were a mistake. Although he receives support from his loving parents and happy-go-lucky sister, Junebug, Nashville yearns for the ability to fly and to join his fellow birds up in the sky. One day, Nashville unintentionally flies his toy plane into a magnolia bush, injuring a bird. Discovering that the bird has a broken wing, he is devastated ("without wings she can't fly"); he knows exactly how that feels. He builds the bird, Magnolia, a new wing and imagines if only he had wings big enough for himself. Before long, Nashville decides to build himself a pair of magnificent wings. With a variety of metaphorical language and imagery, this short read engenders the theme of acceptance and aspiration of fitting in.-Krista Welz, North Bergen High School, NJ (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Nashville, who has qualities both human and birdlike, feels compelled to follow his avian destiny. The storytelling is folksy, poetic and seductive, beginning, "Nashville and his family lived in a house perched in the branches of the largest pecan tree in the village of Goosepimple." Little by little, readers learn how Nashville, unlike his adoring younger sister, Junebug, was hatched from an egg. He has a beak and feathers but, alas, no wings. Morstad's illustrations support the funnier details, including the dinner-table "perch swings" that Nashville's mother has installed "to make Nashville more comfortable" as he eats his seeds while his family eats typical human fare. The deadpan humor of Flat Stanley is invoked when Nashville's parents take him for his annual physical examinationat the veterinarian's office. In added playfulness, said vet is Dr. Larkin; the village teacher is Miss Starling. This allegory of growing up and finding one's figurative wings is told sweetly and without great angst, despite inclusions of such subjects as school bullying and Nashville's empathetic but highly illegal pet-store shenanigans. Yet there is an underlying melancholy throughout, somewhat mitigated by the possibility of future communications from the appealing bird-boy. "There's things you've seen and things you may not have, but there ain't nothing that's impossible, sugar," says a village widow; readers will end the book with a new sense of possible. (Magical realism. 8-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ten-year-old Nashville is part boy, part bird, hatched from an egg that his dad found. Despite having parents and a sister, Junebug, who love him, he feels lost in his tiny hometown of Goosepimple. He dreams of doing only one thing: flying with the birds. Nashville and Junebug spend their days together exercising and stretching their imaginations as naturally as breathing, dreaming up all manner of stories and magical possibilities while taking joy in the smallest bits of the world around them. But then Nashville starts middle school, which means a new school with new teachers and students. He knows he is different, so it's up to him to make the first move while trying to figure out how to fit in or if he can, simply take to the skies. With sharp yet fanciful imagery and prose magical enough to make readers feel that they, too, can fly, Cuevas weaves a story that illustrates how we all have the power to become what we are meant to be. Perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo.--Fredriksen, Jeanne Copyright 2014 Booklist 2