Feather

PreS-Gr 2—Wenxuan has created a picture book that tells the hopeful tale of a single feather as it embarks on a journey to find out where it came from and where it belongs. As a feather, it travels on the wind without a particular direction, but it hopes to discover a personal connection to the world. Along the way, the feather meets many different birds and asks, "Do I belong to you?" Again and again it is rebuffed by kingfisher, magpie, heron, and others, but never loses hope. Finally, the realization that there may never be an answer is calmly accepted as it meets its fate in the talons of a hawk. Wenxuan is a professor of literature at Peking University and winner of the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award. In this folktale, he recognizes that searching does not always end in an expected result, but is still a valuable quest for truth. The story is enhanced by the incomparable illustrations of Roger Mello, who has created strikingly beautiful spreads of the feather's encounter with each of the birds it meets. He highlights their gorgeous plumage including the tail of the peacock and the wings of the geese and then places them strategically on dynamic, full-color backgrounds that match this adventure of discovery. Garcia-Roberts has deftly translated this tale from the original Chinese with language that truly captures the poignancy of never giving up on your search for truth. "If I belonged to a bird, I could fly even higher!"