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Book Review: Yellow Bird and Me by Joyce Hansen

Title & Author:Yellow Bird and Me by Joyce Hansen. Clarion Books, 1986.

Length:155 pages; not illustrated.

Print size: Larger than 'adult' books but not childish.

Other readability issues: This story is set in the present time (or at least 1986) in the Bronx. The plot is straightforward and chronological, though there are subplots and many characters. It's told in the first person from the perspective of Doris, a sixth grade girl.

Summary: Doris is a sixth grader in the Bronx; Yellow Bird is the sixth grader she befriends through the course of the year despite his reputation as class clown. She discovers his serious side and his struggles with reading and his skills in acting.

This book is a good vehicle for discussion of many issues for LD students. Yellow Bird's experience getting put in the special ed class "in that room with the big toy clock" is accurate and poignant; the issues Yellow Bird confronts are issues LD students face every day.

Typical words: Here are some typical words from the stories; it would be wise to see how many of these your students can read before expecting them to read independently.