Feathers (Diversity Chapter Book)

Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson, was a Newbery Honor Book in 2008.  The story is set in the 70s and the main character is an eleven-year-old girl named Frannie.  Even though segregation is over, the town where Frannie lives has self-segregated in a way.  Feathers explores the way Frannie struggles with and deals with her brother's deafness, her mother's miscarriages, her thoughts about religion, and the fact that a white boy has started attending her all black school.  Through several instances in the book, Frannie realizes that though we are different on the outside (a bully, stuck up, white, black, deaf, rich, poor) we all desire kindness, we all have things in common, and human nature is the same.

Finding a chapter book about diversity that I thought ALL libraries should have was the hardest task for this reading journal.  There are quite a few children's books that talk about how we are all different and yet all the same (like Let's Talk About Race from my previous post) but I couldn't find a chapter book that met the specifications I wanted.  I wanted a book that discussed all races so that it would be applicable in all libraries, no matter the demographics of the school and community.  I realized that was easier said than done so I finally just started reading Feathers, which was recommended to me in hopes that it would be "good enough".  As I read Feathers, I realized that even though the main story was about a white boy who starts going to an all black school and the difficulties that are faced, the overarching idea was that we are all the same inside (the same idea as Let's Talk About Race - exactly what I was looking for!).  Feathers is applicable for everyone because what you take away when you read the book is that we all have "stuff" in our lives that make us different - religion, race, parents, background, disabilities - but that we are all equal, no one is worth more or less than someone else.