Product Description

Nobody knows what to make of the new boy in Frannie’s class. Not only does he look different, but he’s kind to everyone, he refuses to fight, and he doesn’t even seem to mind when the other kids nickname him Jesus Boy. But as winter progresses, Frannie realizes that she’s starting to see a whole lot of things in a new light: her brother’s deafness, her mother’s fear, her friend Samantha’s faith, their classmate Trevor’s anger, and her own desire for hope—“the thing with feathers.” And it’s all because of Jesus Boy’s differences . . . and his friendship.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90457 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780142411988
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Looking forward" is the message that runs through Woodson's (The House You Pass on the Way) novel. Narrator Frannie is fascinated with Emily Dickinson's poem, "Hope is the thing with feathers/ that perches in the soul," and grapples with its meaning, especially after a white student joins Frannie's all-black sixth-grade classroom. Trevor, the classroom bully, promptly nicknames him "Jesus Boy," because he is "pale and his hair [is] long." Frannie's best friend, Samantha, a preacher's daughter, starts to believe that the new boy truly could be Jesus ("If there was a world for Jesus to need to walk back into, wouldn't this one be it?"). The Jesus Boy's sense of calm and its effect on her classmates make Frannie wonder if there is some truth to Samantha'a musings, but a climactic faceoff between him and Trevor bring the newcomer's human flaws to light. Frannie's keen perceptions allow readers to observe a ripple of changes. Because she has experienced so much sadness in her life (her brother's deafness, her mother's miscarriages) the heroine is able to see beyond it all—to look forward to a time when the pain subsides and life continues. Set in 1971, Woodson's novel skillfully weaves in the music and events surrounding the rising opposition to the Vietnam War, giving this gentle, timeless story depth. She raises important questions about God, racial segregation and issues surrounding the hearing-impaired with a light and thoughtful touch. Ages 8-up.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 4–7—"Stepped through that door white and softly as the snow," notes sixth-grader Frannie, on the arrival of a pale, long-haired boy to her predominantly black middle school on a winter day in 1971. He is dubbed the Jesus Boy by the class rowdy, and the name seems to suit the newcomer's appearance and calm demeanor. Frannie is confused, not only by declarations that he's NOT white, but that her friend Samantha, daughter of a conservative Baptist minister, also seems to believe that he is Jesus. In light of this and other surprises in her life, Frannie questions her own faith and, most of all, the meaning of the Emily Dickinson poem that she is studying in class, "Hope is a thing with feathers/that perches in the soul/…." How does she maintain hope when her newly pregnant mother has lost three babies already? She also worries about her deaf older brother, Sean, who longs to be accepted in the hearing world. She sees the anger in the bully intensify as he targets Jesus Boy. With her usual talent for creating characters who confront, reflect, and grow into their own persons, Woodson creates in Frannie a strong protagonist who thinks for herself and recognizes the value and meaning of family. The story ends with hope and thoughtfulness while speaking to those adolescents who struggle with race, faith, and prejudice. They will appreciate its wisdom and positive connections.—D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
There's a lot going on in this small, fast-moving novel that introduces big issues--faith, class, color, prejudice, family, disability, and friendship. Woodson tells her story with immediacy and realism through the stirring first-person narrative of a young girl, Frannie, growing up in 1971. The new boy in school is the only white kid in Frannie's sixth-grade class, and she wonders why he doesn't go to the white school across the highway. He's pleased when some of the kids call him Jesus Boy, and Frannie's devout friend, Samantha, thinks he may be the savior. A few of the boys harass him, especially bullying Trevor--who looks white himself. When the new kid turns out to be far from perfect, Frannie wonders: Was he God's child? Aren't we all? In her loving home, filled with light, hope, and laughter, a deaf older brother has always enriched her life, but Frannie realizes that she still has bridges of prejudice to cross. A good choice for discussion. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Feathers and Hope

In January of 1971, eleven-year-old Frannie lives contentedly with her parents and deaf older brother, Sean, in an apartment on the "wrong" side of the highway. "There weren't white people on this side of the highway.
You didn't notice until one appeared. And then you saw all the brown and light brown everywhere." Suddenly, a tall, skinny white boy with long hair appears in Frannie's sixth-grade class. His classmates decide that he looks like the pictures of Jesus and start calling him the "Jesus Boy." Frannie's best friend Samantha, whose father is a "fire-and brimstone" preacher according to Frannie's mother, seems especially
taken with the "Jesus Boy, " and begins to fantasize that he might be Jesus returned to earth. While the "Jesus Boy" must stand up to enormous bullying from his male classmates, which Frannie deplores, she
becomes quite interested in him and is mystified that he knows how to "sign," which is how she communicates with her beloved brother.


In this excellent, slice-of life story, the author explores, through Frannie's eyes, many facets of growing up.The likable Frannie learns to deal with religious ideas, racism, the meaning of friendship, familial love, and plain old - but never simple - milk of human kindness.

Hooray for good kids!
Feathers--fine strands intricately connected to make something soft and beautiful, shimmering and uplifting. The musical language and the deliciously real detail would be enough, but the soul of this story is Frannie. She's not smart or pretty or graceful. She's not particularly poetic. She's certainly not religious. But she's good. She looks past what's peculiar and prickly to find those basic human connections that help her to do the right thing. Thanks, Jacqueline Woodson, for introducing us to Frannie and that Jesus Boy. In them we can all find hope. Readers who like Feathers might also like Danger, Long Division, in which another good kid, age 11, develops new perspectives on mean kids, friendship and family.

Beautiful story
I finished this yesterday morning--about 36 hours ago--and I've been thinking about it off and on since then. That's rare for me. Usually, I finish one book, then move right on to the next. But this beautiful novel stuck with me.

Frannie is a girl who's lost hope--she lives on the poor side of the highway, she's seen her mama suffer through miscarriages and now she's pregnant again, and she sees the way girls treat her brother when they find out he's deaf. Frannie's teacher reads an Emily Dickinson poem that starts "Hope is the thing with feathers..." to her class, which gets Frannie thinking about hope. Then a boy who looks like Jesus shows up as the new kid at school, and Frannie is forced to grapple with her own understanding of hope, faith, and religion. One of my favorite aspects of the story is how Frannie explores the idea of spirituality versus religion.

This would be a great book to read with your child because of all the interesting conversations you could have about the characters and what they go through.