 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Swordbird
- By Nancy Yi Fan
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Child-author's debut will inspire kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this book, written by an 11-year-old, includes some violence, with injuries and deaths.
What's the story?
An evil hawk named Turnatt attempts to rule the forest through brutality and intimidation. He captures birds to be his slaves and build a fortress, and he gets the bluejays and cardinals fighting against one another.
Once they realize they have been tricked, the jays and cardinals unite, but they are still not strong enough to defeat Turnatt and his crow minions. Their only hope is the legend of Swordbird, son of the Great Spirit, who can bring peace. But how can they find him?
Is it any good?
How should a work such as this, written by 11-year-old Nanci Yi Fan, be considered? As the work of a truly gifted child it is extraordinary -- any middle-school teacher would be thrilled to have a student do work like this, and Fan is certainly a budding talent worth watching for in the future. Is it fair to judge it the same way that novels by adults are judged? On that basis, it is sorely lacking: Stilted prose and sometimes embarrassingly awkward dialogue, a simplistic, derivative plot -- if this had been written by an adult, it is unlikely it would have seen print.
Does that matter? Probably not. Middle-graders will undoubtedly enjoy it (pleasure enhanced by knowing that a kid wrote it), and be inspired by its young author, maybe even to the point of trying some writing of their own. So no harm done, and maybe something to the good.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the author's intentions. She has stated that this book grew out of her feelings about terrorism and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that it carries a message of peace. What do you think she was trying to convey? What is her message? How can a book filled with warfare be about peace? Also, how could an 11-year-old write a book like this? Do you have any ideas for a story?
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AGE
Terrific book for kids all over the world
Out of the hands of the 12-year-old Nancy Yi Fan, the fantasy novel SWORDBIRD was published worldwide this February by one of the world's leading publishers, HaperCollins. Media from many countries are buzzing about this New York Times Children's Bestseller. This March, PLP published the Chinese-English bilingual edition of SWORDBIRD, which had been translated by the author herself. Indeed, the book went right into the hearts of both media and readers.
Why was this book so well-received? Research results pointed to these factors:
1. Theme. The fluttering world of birds lightly veils a repeated message: peace is wonderful; freedom is sacred. It is undeniable that most people value and support these things. Your daily ritual of instant messaging upon your laptop or reading below a tree might as well be nothing if you add, say, an atomic bomb falling down into the picture.
2. The book was written by a 12-year-old author. It's got a touch of childish charm. Remember those little doodles of stick-figures? It's like that, simple and poignant, and reading it may just bring out your young self.
3. Inspirational for other children. It's astonishing how peer examples can animate and motivate kids.
4. 2008 Olympics to be held in China. Because of this, China's turning into a hot topic, so it's not hard to understand why the work of a young writer of Chinese origin gets so much attention. Even Jackie Chan recommends this book . Chinese culture is now in display to the world. HarperCollins' recent plan to translate and publish 50 Chinese modern classics is an example and a symbol of this.
5. Recognition. Since the book was published, many experts in children's literature wrote reviews on Nancy Yi Fan's debut novel. The General Administration of Press and Publication in China placed SWORDBIRD into the 2007 List of 100 Best Children's Books, in which SWORDBIRD ranked 3rd out of the 30 novels and collection of short stories in the fiction and art genre and 1st in the original chapter books category. It shows that the literary personnel involved in this wanted to see the differences between Chinese and American educational programs, as well as encourage kids to read, write and imagine.
It's wonderful how this small book has risen into the sky of children's reading as a star.
HarperCollins, in publishing books including SWORDBIRD, has encouraged the reading of children as well as the peace of the world. Jane Friedman not only has helped spread a wave of reading and writing enthusiasm among American kids, but also planted the seeds of peace and freedom in the hearts of global kids. She should be one of the greatest CEOs of the publishing industries in the world.
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AGE
CRAPPY BOOK
All the parents say it is a great book for KIDS but the kids say it is a horrible book including me, just shows how much parents know about their kids...
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AGE
it was ok.....
it was ok but i didnt relly like it. so i would give it a 3 out of 5 becus it was WAY to vilont and yes the carcters are not relly developed . like you cant tell there personaltys. the only one where you can is aska and maby milton. this is a bit of a copy of other books like some part of WARRIORS is in it like the tribs and how they fight ech other. but warriors is alot more real like and they travel to other places and it is just more fun to read. the sword bird (wind-voice) only comes in forthe last 4 chapters and the chapters are short. like its the same thing over and over. and what did win voce do to be so grate and whats with all the old scriper why is that so graet? also it is way tovilont. when a hawlk gets relly angry he shreds up a poor raven for snezing. ther is alot of blood and screming. and how can birds hold somany things with just there feet and how can a bird play the fluit and jugges and rect ALL THE WAY TO GET TO HIS SHOLDER UESING JUST HIS FEET???? i just think its ok and maby that her "drem" was just a dream nothing specil and i think she is trying to make her selth sound so pefict and plesint. she siad that she wroght it when she was sad for 911 but i think she might have wroght it for other resons.........
all in all i give it a 3 i kinda liked it like it had some funny and charming points . and some action but dont have your image be clouded just by the 12 year old arother
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AGE
Ummmm....no.
A big, 'magestic' looking bird, holding a sword that's far to big for it spreads it's 'magestic' golden wings across the cover. Smaller, weaker birds look up at it in wonder, chanting: "Redwalllll!"
What? This wasn't a Redwall novel? Sorry, it was so similar that I must have gotten confused. My bad.
Anyway, Stone-run forest is being *gasp* terrorized by an EVIL hawk named *gasp*....Turnatt, who wants to make 'slavebirds' of the entire forest. The only one who can save them is *dramatic pause* the mighty *dramatic pause*...SWORDBIRD!!! (What kind of name is Swordbird, anyway? It sounds like a bad Dr. Zeus book....)
The birds of the forest must find a Learson Jem, which will summon the great Sword-bearing avian. And who else would undertake such a quest but Aska the 'brave' blue-jay and Miltin, a wimpy robin who is an escaped 'slavebird'. But wouldn't you know it? It just so happens that Miltin's old colony has such a jem. What luck!
So they take the journey all the way to Miltin's home town, Miltin dies of a broken wing, surrounded by his family, his last words affirming his love for Mommy and Daddy. Isn't that sweet?
Aska takes the jem back to Stone-run forest, they summon Swoidboid, who saves the day, and peace and freedom reing in the forest.
Nancy must have said "Peace is sacred" at lest ten times throughout the book.
What a great, heartwarming read. Don't you just love Redwall? I mean Swordbird..
And the best part.... There's already a prequel, with a just as headache-inducing cover. Huzzah for marketing scams!
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AGE
Ewwww XP
It was a sad day when this book was published. Among the many books I read to pass the time, I was disgrased by its simple languidge, common story line, un-developed charictors and poor vocabulary. This 'dream' the young auther clames to have had was just a result of reading Red Wall before bed, and nothing more. She is not a prodegy nor is she the cream of the crop, the only thig that amazed me hear was that it actualy got published.
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AGE
I'd Like To See You Idiots Do Better
First off, to all those other *******s, I suggest when you're dissing a book you actually use proper GRAMMAR and SPELLING in your review--oh, I'm sorry. Did I lose you already? My words too big for your tiny, supposedly teen and adult minds to comprehend?
Anyway. To "Wolf Heart": Go get a big, fat dictionary, because you definitely need it. How can you say SWORDBIRD has a poor vocabulary when you can hardly spell anything yourself? You have the spelling abilities of a SECOND GRADER, and you're 16? I don't think so. If you can't do better, don't say anything yourself.
To "kirby k" and a heck lot of others; HOW, exactly, is she trying to make herself look nice and pleasant? (Which, by the way, you spelled wrong. Nice going.) She genuinely cares about peace and is very troubled about 9-11; what's the matter with that? I say you're jealous because Nancy has the ability to write thoughts down like an adult and she's more successful than you are in life.
There's hardly ANY violence at all. Sheesh!
I would say a lot more comments to those other reviewers, but all of it's not nice, and most have swear words involved. Moving on.
On to my book review:
I particularly enjoyed it a bit. I have to say, though, the only reason that people reviewed her work nicely was because she was 12/13 when it was published, and that gets me annoyed. Why? Because they only went easy on her since she was so young, and supposedly, preteens aren't supposed to have the ability to write that well.
Most reviews are like, "Pretty good...for a twelve year old." The only reason it got famous was because she was so young as an author. Ditto the reason why it got published. The only reason that CEO lady published it was because Nancy was young; thus, it would make big news, have better publicity, get more sales, etc. etc. If she was an adult, the book wouldn't get another look at before being shredded into itty-bitty pieces.
The only reason people bought it was because it was written by a 12 year old writer. The whole BOOK revolves around her being 12. There's a picture of her on the back of the book, for Pete's sake! HarperCollins put so much emphasis on Nancy's age that everyone pays little attention to anything else. The synopsis starts off as, "TWELVE YEAR OLD AUTHOR NANCY..." or something like that. People see it [the book] on the shelves, leaf through it and think, "Wow! This was written by a twelve year old? This has to be interesting!" So, they buy it to see how good it actually is.
Really, though, I find the writing a little mediocre, but still fairly enjoyable. I guess, (and this is all I really have left to say) this book is pretty good...for a twelve year old.
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AGE
I agree with "tdmareder!"
I agree with "tdmareder:"
1. The book is mediocre, and it did get most of its publicity because of its author's age. However, I'm sure that this will inspire tweens to read it, and when they're finished, to try their hand at writing.
2. Some of you are being way to hard on this book; first of all, you are giving Nancy a hard time. She WAS eleven when she wrote it, after all. Secondly, GET A DICTIONARY! (Especially you, "kirby k" and "Wolf Heart") How can we take your reviews seroiusly when you are 15 and 18 and 12-year-old Nancy spells better than you? Get a life.
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| Author: | Nancy Yi Fan |
| Illustrator: | Mark Zug |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Children's Books |
| Publication date: | February 1, 2006 |
| Number of pages: | 219 |
| Hardcover price: | $15.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 8 - 12 |
| Read aloud: | 8 |
| Read alone: | 9 |
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