From: Hollis Rudiger <hmrudiger>
Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2004 09:04:21 -0600

I loved Beautiful Blackbird, and I love Ashley Bryan. Would you believe that my first introduction to him was as a 5th grader? The Dancing Granny? And now I get paid to read and think about books like Beautiful Blackbird. Lucky me. My favorite part (sheepishly, I admit, it's not the most "academic,") is the scissors on the endpapers. What a novel way to reinforce Bryan's ever present commitment to family and heritage.

And my favorite line, which I am considering adding to my sig file, is:
"Just remember, whatever I do, I'll still be me, and you'll still be you." Blackbird says it right after he paints the rings on Ringdove.

Is he saying that no amount of cosmetic decoration can change who we are ? He can't be saying that our colors don't matter, can he? Black may be beautiful, but a dove is still a dove, a bluebird still a bluebird...

And then again, perhaps a bird is just a bird.

Hollis Rudiger, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706

hmrudiger at education.wisc.edu Voice: 608&3930 Fax: 608&2I33 www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Tue 02 Mar 2004 09:04:21 AM CST