🔴KidLit Book Review: A Head Full of Birds
- zapoura
- Oct 16, 2024
- 2 min read
RATING:🔴 Not Recommended
REVIEWER: Jacklyn Ogden
REVIEW METHODOLOGY: Louise Derman-Spark's Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children's Books
“‘She’s so stupid! She’s so stupid!’”
A Head Full of Birds by Alexandra Garibal is about an elementary schooler named Nanette who gets bullied for being neurodivergent. In the front of the classroom, Nanette sits next to Noah who is mean to her when they first meet. But they soon become friends after Noah becomes fascinated with her way of playing.
While neurodiversity is the central theme of this book, Nanette’s neurodiversity (ASD) is not directly stated nor explored. The third-person writing choice emphasizes a neurotypical view of neurodiversity and readers do not actually learn about Nanette’s “head full of birds” from herself. This results in Noah, who may or may not be neurotypical (also not directly stated), being the “hero” of the story, “saving” Nanette with friendship. Nanette has no character growth outside of becoming friends with Noah; she is not defined until Noah defines her.
The title, A Head Full of Birds, itself may be viewed as belittling as the metaphor doesn’t address how to properly discuss and understand it. Neurodiversity isn’t simply “having a stomach full of butterflies”; it can be debilitating. Children and adults alike need to understand that neurodiversity is more than just a playful statement.
This book is not recommended as an introduction to neurodiversity because it does not include specification, character growth, diversity, or readability. Children who are neurodivergent would not be able to connect to this book because of its third-person narrative and underdevelopment of Nanette’s character and experience. While the book promotes friendship between neurotypical and neurodivergent children, it does so in a harmful way. The neurotypical children are presented as unkind and neurodivergent children are shown as naive.
**Note from Reading Is Resistance: Books we recommend to read instead of this title are A Day With No Words by Tiffany Hammond, We Move Together by Kelly Fritsch and Ann McGuire, Ways to Play by Lyn Miller-Lachmann, and I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
REVIEWER BIO: Jacklyn Ogden studied English at Portland State University and was a student in Zapoura Newton-Calvert's Social Justice in K12 Education course. She has a passion for children’s literature and how it will affect current and future youth.
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