Beyond the Laughing Sky

Gr 5–7—Ten-year-old Nashville was hatched from an egg his father found on the sidewalk one day. Although he has feathers on his head and a beak for a nose, Nashville is a regular boy. Living in a house perched in the branches of the largest pecan tree in the village of Goosepimple, Nashville constantly feels as though he doesn't belong. He longs for the tops of trees, the cloudless skies, and the stars. Countless people have pointed and laughed at him over the years, making him feel as if he were a mistake. Although he receives support from his loving parents and happy-go-lucky sister, Junebug, Nashville yearns for the ability to fly and to join his fellow birds up in the sky. One day, Nashville unintentionally flies his toy plane into a magnolia bush, injuring a bird. Discovering that the bird has a broken wing, he is devastated ("without wings she can't fly"); he knows exactly how that feels. He builds the bird, Magnolia, a new wing and imagines if only he had wings big enough for himself. Before long, Nashville decides to build himself a pair of magnificent wings. With a variety of metaphorical language and imagery, this short read engenders the theme of acceptance and aspiration of fitting in.—Krista Welz, North Bergen High School, NJ