Whistling Wings Review

Synopsis from Arbordale Publishing:
Can a swan survive without winter migration? Marcel, a young tundra swan, is tired from the first half of a winter migration. One thousand miles is a long way to fly—too long for Marcel, so he hides in the rushes to stay behind while his parents and the flock continue south. But with the lake nearly frozen over, he soon realizes that he is not cut out for life on ice. Other animals offer advice about how to survive the winter, but their ways of living aren’t right for the swan. Hungry and scared, he falls asleep – only to be awakened by a big surprise! The “For Creative Minds” educational section includes “Tundra Swan Fun Facts” and a “Tundra Swan Life Cycle Sequencing Activity.”

This fictional story includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 32-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Whistling Wings is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The enhanced ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.

About: Whistling Wings is a children’s picture book written by Laura Goering and illustrated by Laura Jacques. It was published on 8/1/2008 by Arbordale Publishing, hardcover, 32 pages. Please see more info about the author below. Arbordale Publishing’s mission is to inspire the love of reading and improve young children’s science and math skills through picture books. These books will captivate your kids’ minds on your lap, at bedtime, or in the classroom. This book is for ages 4-8, Grades PK-3.

My Experience: I started reading Whistling Wings on 1/19/17 as a bedtime story for my 5 year-old son. This is actually our second time reading this book. We both liked this book very much. The illustrations are so beautiful. The story focuses on a little boy swan named Marcel who loves his home because of the great weather and abundant food source. But when winter comes, his family asks him to migrate and he doesn’t want to go because he feels afraid of the long distance he is required to fly. On the day of migration, he hides so that he could stay back. Then when everyone is gone and the weather is so cold, he feels sad and alone. Other animals tried to help him but either he’s too big to sleep in a log or can’t swim underwater. This book is absolutely great for kids to read because they not only learn about tundra swans migration but they also learn to stay together with family because family will take care of them. There is also great facts of the swans at the end of the book is an additional bonus knowledge!

Pro: family, migration, survival, illustration, tundra swans, helpful passerby

Con: the story didn’t mention a location where the swans stay and where they are going

I rate it 5 stars!

Grab yourself a copy here: Book Depository

About the Author:

Laura Goering is a professor of Russian language and literature (including Russian Literature for Children) at Carleton College. Every fall, people travel from all over the Upper Midwest to Alma, Wisconsin, to view the thousands of whistling swans (also called tundra swans), who stop there on the way from their breeding grounds in northern Canada and Alaska to their wintering grounds in the Chesapeake Bay area. It was this spectacle that inspired Laura to write Whistling Wings. While Laura has poems published in anthologies and several magazine articles to her credit, this is her first picture book. Laura, lives in Minnesota with her husband, and their daughter. (Info obtained from Arbardale Publishing).

***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Arbordale Publishing for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine