Each Little Bird That Sings

Each Little Bird That Sings
by Deborah Wiles
Realistic Fiction
Harcourt, 2005

Summary: Comfort Snowberger is a ten-year-old girl whose family owns a funeral home. She has attended more than 247 funerals. She lives with her father (a mortician), her mother (a funeral florist), her fourteen-year-old brother Tidings, and her faithful dog Dismay. Comfort considers her self to an “explorer, recipe tester, and funeral reporter”. She prides herself on thinking out of the box. Comfort is a girl that some would consider “eccentric”. Her Great-Great Aunt Florentine, and Great Uncle Edisto are a big part of her life. Comfort gets many of her quirks and personality traits from them. In the wake of her Great-Great Aunt Florentine’s death, her best friend Declaration Johnson begins to shun her with no explanation. On top of that, she has to look after her younger cousin Peach, who is a royal pain! Throughout the book, Comfort is confronted with a life of surprises.

“It’s not how you die that makes the important impression, Comfort; it’s how you live.”

- Great Uncle Edisto

Themes: family relationships; identity; death; friendships; emotions; belonging; self-esteem

Rationale for Use: Student-friendly language; elements of humor; interesting plot; believable adolescent characters and problems

Content Area Connections:

Science:

Teacher could use this book to connect to a study on rocks. Weather, specifically flooding, could also be connected to this text.

Social Science:

Teachers could use the map illustrated in the beginning of the book as a review of map legends and keys.

Also, students could read and discuss Comfort’s obituaries, and write their own for famous Americans and/or Presidents.

Possible Problems or Concerns: organization of text may be difficult for some students to follow; central theme of death may be too realistic for some students

~Amanda Booe