How to Heal a Broken Wing

Title: How to Heal a Broken Wing

Author: Bob Graham

Picture Book #2

How to Heal a Broken Wing is an inspiring story about a young boy named Will who takes notice to what everyone else seems blind to – a fallen bird. Upon finding this fallen bird, Will takes him home and, with the help of his parents, he nurses him back to health. As the author states, “a loose feather can’t be put back but a broken wing can sometimes heal”.  Once the bird has finally healed and can fly again, Will releases him letting him soar into the open sky.  Coupled with comic strip-like illustrations, this story is one I found to be particularly moving. The action Will takes is simple but is something that many people don’t think to do.  

I think this book is good for any child to read because it teaches about (what I see as) a social responsibility to help those in need around us. Human or animal, I think it is important to reach out all the same and respect others that inhabit this earth. On a side note, I would use this as a learning experience to teach children about the importance of being safe when handling animals. Birds can carry a whole host of dangerous diseases and it would be important for them to learn about how to properly handle them. It may be a stretch, but I can see this book tying in nicely with a social studies unit about community and a science unit about animals. I would do a mini lesson about how to properly handle animals and warn against picking up things such as feathers with their bare hands.