African American Literature Reviews - Module Two

Bibliography

Johnson, Angela. 2004. Bird. New York: Dial Books. ISBN 0803728476.

Plot Summary

Thirteen year old, Bird, from Cleveland takes a bus to the rural town of Acorn, Alabama in hopes of locating her step-father, Cecil, who left her family. She takes up residence in a shack, outside a family’s farmhouse and gets to know the members of the farm family as she watches them from afar. When she sneaks into the family’s farm house every Sunday morning, after they leave for church, to have some leftover breakfast and a bath, she notices a familiar smiling face in the family photos and begins to make connections between her step-father and the farm son’s Uncle C.L. After finally beginning to trust the farm son, she and Ethan become friends, although she is reluctant to share her history with him. Bird soon meets Jay, Ethan’s fourteen year old neighbor, who is trying to make sense of his older brother’s sudden death and the fact that someone is walking around with his brother’s heart in their chest. Bird enjoys the happiness she observes in the lives of the people in Acorn. It isn’t until she gets to know the people personally that she understands she is not the only one dealing with a broken heart and a feeling of loneliness. As the narrative voices of Bird, Ethan, and Jay interconnect, the stories of finding forgiveness, love, and contentment prevail.

Critical Analysis

Angela Johnson’s story, told in three voices, is subtly infused with a few cultural markers found in African American literature; however her book, Bird, could easily be filled with characters of any color or ethnicity. The few culture markers noted include those references to the hairstyles of Jay’s mother, “her beaded braids”, and the braids of Bird. Bird’s skin color is mildly referenced after a red-dust storm “turns my skin more brown than black”. Various foods prepared by the farm family’s mother are reminiscent of traditional African American flare and include pork chops, cabbage greens, butter beans, black-eyed peas, grits, stew and cornbread. The farm family spends 3 ½ hours at church each Sunday which often includes a picnic following church services. During this time, Bird takes advantage of the empty farm house where she soaks in the claw-footed bathtub full of bubbles, and then naps quietly while her clothes dry in the family’s dryer. Then, she quietly returns to the shack outside to wait patiently for her chance to speak to Ethan’s uncle, C.L.

It appears that Uncle C.L. has been a part of Bird’s past and she wants to know if he has any intention of reuniting with her and her family. She misses her step-father Cecil (Uncle C.L.) deeply and longs for his love and attention. After watching him for weeks, she finally realizes that he will continue to be a free spirit and live his own life, here and there, with no real strings attached. In her own broken heart, Bird realizes it is not her step-father she really wants, but her father that was taken from her by death that she misses the most.

Johnson’s approach to this book and its recurring theme of the need for love, forgiveness, and contentment from all three narrative voices seems to have been written in a manner to show that human emotion and interaction of this type can happen between characters of any color or ethnicity rather than one culture.


Review Excerpts

“Bird confronts friendship, family, and human limitations in this poignant tale. Thirteen-year-old Bird has run away from her Ohio home to search for her vanished stepfather. Hiding in a shed in Acorn, Alabama, Bird dances by moonlight and tries not to be too lonely. She can't help but get involved with the people she meets: Ethan, a boy whose life was saved by a heart transplant; Jay, whose brother died suddenly; and old Mrs. Pritchard, who used to bake peach cobbler before she lost her husband. Bird covetously observes the happy families of Acorn, but doesn't see that everyone has grief and tragedies to bear. Told through the alternating voices of Bird, Jay, and Ethan, this moving journey follows four lonely people as they touch each other's lives.” Kirkus Review starred

“Thirteen-year-old Bird has traveled from Ohio to Alabama in search of her stepfather; Ethan has had a heart transplant; Jay is mourning the death of his brother (who was Ethan's donor). The lives of each of these three teen narrators intersect, under unusual circumstances and with lasting effects. Johnson's prose is eloquent and poetic in this spare, powerful novel about matters of the heart.” Horn Book starred

Connections

Readers might also consider other books with main characters experiencing absent parents, broken families, or foster care situations as in these titles below:

Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons. ISBN 0060233370
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. ISBN 9780440413288
Grimes, Nikki. The Road to Paris. ISBN 0399245375