Alison's Wings
Apr. 27th, 2011 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
booksofafeatherShort review: Alison wants wings, and nothing else will do... not flying with a cape or even in a plane. This is a short little children's book, almost a "half picture book" (it has more writing than a picture book, but it has lots of pictures and it is still very short) meant for 2nd grade children. It's interesting and a little circular... the story ends where it begins. I'm not sure what to think of it at all, but, it's a nice book for very young children.
Writing: It's quite average and simple... nothing too good or bad. The ending is very blurry and there is no real message, leaving the story open where it's hard to say what a person might get from it. The pictures have a touching feeling to them, and, you can see the longing that is in Alison. It also has nice small details like, the feather print on her night shirt ^^
From a winged person's perspective...: This book is almost the opposite of the last book I reviewed, Eucalyptus Wings. In that book, flying with wings is a dream that you can swap for flying on a swing. In this book there are swings too, in strange coincidence, but, it's very clear all through the book... nothing is like flying with wings. Alison's dream of wings isn't described very much so we don't know why she wants them, but, it still has a feeling that many winged people will identify with. It's a short book and not much detail though, better for younger children who are just learning to read.
Trigger warnings: Feelings of longing for wings, and, the feeling of wings itching under skin and pushing through skin.
More thoughts...: This book is not bad, but, I'm not sure who I recommend to read it. The age that would really enjoy this book, may be too young to know how they feel about wings. But, if you have a young child that seems like they feel that way, this might be a good book for them.
The ending goes back to the beginning with her dreaming of wings again as she was at the beginning... it seems to say that the only way she can really fly is in her dreams. It's interesting, I'm not sure whether they're saying it's a good thing or a bad thing, or what I think about it even. On the one hand, it's not coating the truth that if you want to fly, you want to fly and swings or planes aren't going to feel the same. On the other, it's sad, and, it seems like it's trying to make the "but she can fly in her dreams!" more happy than it is.
It makes me wonder, what happens to her after this? Does she just keep trying to find a physical way? Does she lose hope? If you are a parent who can ask questions like that, this book is a good way of making your child think about an early philosophical topic. If you are a parent giving this to a child to read on their own, I'm not sure what message they will get... everyone will get something different depending on their personality. Because of this, I can't really give a score... I think this book would work best as a jumping point to interesting questions, between parent and child or in a school. On its own, it's not a strong story.
Writing: It's quite average and simple... nothing too good or bad. The ending is very blurry and there is no real message, leaving the story open where it's hard to say what a person might get from it. The pictures have a touching feeling to them, and, you can see the longing that is in Alison. It also has nice small details like, the feather print on her night shirt ^^
From a winged person's perspective...: This book is almost the opposite of the last book I reviewed, Eucalyptus Wings. In that book, flying with wings is a dream that you can swap for flying on a swing. In this book there are swings too, in strange coincidence, but, it's very clear all through the book... nothing is like flying with wings. Alison's dream of wings isn't described very much so we don't know why she wants them, but, it still has a feeling that many winged people will identify with. It's a short book and not much detail though, better for younger children who are just learning to read.
Trigger warnings: Feelings of longing for wings, and, the feeling of wings itching under skin and pushing through skin.
More thoughts...: This book is not bad, but, I'm not sure who I recommend to read it. The age that would really enjoy this book, may be too young to know how they feel about wings. But, if you have a young child that seems like they feel that way, this might be a good book for them.
The ending goes back to the beginning with her dreaming of wings again as she was at the beginning... it seems to say that the only way she can really fly is in her dreams. It's interesting, I'm not sure whether they're saying it's a good thing or a bad thing, or what I think about it even. On the one hand, it's not coating the truth that if you want to fly, you want to fly and swings or planes aren't going to feel the same. On the other, it's sad, and, it seems like it's trying to make the "but she can fly in her dreams!" more happy than it is.
It makes me wonder, what happens to her after this? Does she just keep trying to find a physical way? Does she lose hope? If you are a parent who can ask questions like that, this book is a good way of making your child think about an early philosophical topic. If you are a parent giving this to a child to read on their own, I'm not sure what message they will get... everyone will get something different depending on their personality. Because of this, I can't really give a score... I think this book would work best as a jumping point to interesting questions, between parent and child or in a school. On its own, it's not a strong story.
