Z is for Zambia

Z – Can it be? Yes, we’ve reached the end of the alphabet in the 2015 A to Z April Blog Challenge. As a kindergarten teacher, I know what a big deal it is when we reach the letter Z. It is also a big deal for all the A to Z Blog challengers. Here at A Field Trip Life we’ve read the world from Australia to today’s destination, Zambia.

Beautiful Blackbird
By Ashley Bryan ( author and illustrator)
Atheneum Books for Young Readers

In this folk tale from Zambia, we learn how the birds got their colors. The single colored birds fly to a festival where Ringdove asks “Who of us is the most beautiful?” Everyone agrees that Blackbird is the most beautiful because his feathers gleam all the colors. They circle Blackbird and sing,

“Beak to beak, peck, peck, peck,
Spread your wings, stretch your neck.
Black is beautiful, uh-huh!
Black is beautiful, uh-huh!”

The birds want some black on their feathers, too. Blackbird agrees, makes a brew and paints rings, dots, and stripes on the different birds. He says, “We’ll see the difference a touch of black can make.”

 

This book asks the question, what makes us beautiful? It is a celebration of differences and concludes “Just remember, whatever I do, I’ll be me and you’ll be you.”

Beautiful Blackbird is written with rhythm and rhyme which makes it perfect to read aloud. Award winning Ashley Bryan’s illustrations were made using paper collage in bright colors. The birds look like they’re ready to take flight! Beautiful Blackbird is a beautiful book. I have a zillion ideas for projects to do with kids based on the art, poetry, and message of this book.

You can watch the wonderful Ashley Bryan read Beautiful Blackbird  here.

Here is some information about Zambia.

Thanks for joining me on this Read Your World adventure from A to Z. Where should we go next?

I’ve been have a grand time reading other bloggers’ a-z posts. Here are a few who are also writing travel themed blogs that I think you will enjoy:

Anabel’s Travel Blog

No Back Home

On The Edge