Rainbow Wings

Ryder, Joanne

ISBN 10: 0688141293 ISBN 13: 9780688141295

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2000

Synopsis

Illustrations and poetic text describe the wings of an owl, a hummingbird, a butterfly, an eagle, a bat, and other creatures and their different experiences of flight.

About this title

About the Author:

Joanna Ryder is an award-winning author whose books offer a unique blend of poetry and science. Her innovative Just for a Day series invites children into the world of wild animals, ranging from a sea otter to Tyrannosaurus rex. Ms. Ryder says, "Children know that my books often ask them to imagine being a different creature. So they always ask me which animal I would choose to be. I'd be a flying one, I tell them. Or if I could, I'd wish for wings. And I've discovered children would love wings, too. But which ones to choose? I wrote Rainbow Wings to help us decide." Ms. Ryder lives in Pacific Grove, California. In Her Own Words...

"When I was small, my father would find tiny treasures in our garden and bring them to me cupped gently in his hands." I've got something fabulous to show you," he'd say, carefully opening his fingers. I might see a cicada watching me with ruby eyes or a snail gliding across his palm. Then my father would slip the animal into my hands so I could watch it and feel it move for a moment until we returned it to its home. (In case you haven't held a snail, it feels like cool Jell-O sliding over warm skin!)

"My father helped me find the magic in the natural world and appreciate what it might be like to be another creature, someone wonderfully different. in my books, I try to share with my readers the experience of being "shape changers." We imagine together how it would feel to be someone new--a huge, furry polar bear running on an ice-covered sea, a lean lizard changing colors in the hot sun, a humpback whale singing its winter song, a sea otter floating on a seaweed bed, a Jaguar prowling in a lush tropical rain forest, and a great white shark gliding toward its prey.

"I liked to read when I was young, especially adventures about dogs uid cats, and I began writing my own animal stories. My family and teachers encouraged my writing and made me want to continue. So I studied journalism at Marquette University, and I learned how to research and discover facts. Sometimes a book idea comes from an amazing animal fact I've found. A curious person, I start thinking of questions about where the animal lives and how it spends its days and nights. I may hunt for the answers for months before I write a word of my book.

"For several years I was an editor of children's books in New York. Now I write full-time and live in California. I enjoy hiking through woods and parks and by the sea. There, it is still easy for me to imagine what it might be like to be a tiny insect hidden in the leaves above or perhaps a whale swimming deep below the pounding waves. So my language is poetic, full of images, sounds, and sensations to help readers slip into a new skin, a new shape.

"My father helped me discover the wonders hidden all around me, and in my books I try to share my own discoveries with children. And I hope when they explore the natural world on their own, they will also find it a most inviting place--as I did and still do."

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 4-A winged cat parks a cloud-covered wagon at the bottom of a rainbow and invites a group of youngsters to examine her wares: a variety of wings that are waiting to be tried on and tried out. In a series of double-page spreads, Ryder highlights the unique attributes of the wings of nine different animals: those of an owl are "best worn at night/when moonlight is low," while a penguin's appendages enable the wearer to travel "through the sea,/diving deep, rising high,/paddling quick as can be." Individuals who are not interested in "molting/and preening" should choose a bat's "featherless wings,/wash and wear, easy care." By book's end, all of the children have made their selections and launched off into the sky to discover places "found only in dreams." Brief facts about each of the featured flyers are appended. The paintings combine realistic glimpses of the animals with more whimsical images of the children experimenting with their new equipment. Sherbet-colored backgrounds contrast with the figures, which are rendered in slightly darker shades. As in her "Just for a Day" series (Morrow), Ryder mixes fact with fancy, inviting readers to learn a few things while stretching their imaginations. Although a bit lengthy at times, the poetic text evokes the excitement and wonder of being airborne. Pair this one with Nic Bishop's The Secrets of Animal Flight (Houghton, 1997).
Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library Journal
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0688141293
• ISBN 13: 9780688141295
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Lee Victor