I'm NOT alot of things, but I do pride myself on being a good (no, great) Dad.Swordbird Club said:
Report from Time for Kids...
- Thread starter Swordbird Club
- Start date
Being a great Dad is glorious! :yes:Music-dad said:I'm NOT alot of things, but I do pride myself on being a good (no, great) Dad.
HappyMomma, I have four kids.HappyMomma said:The same purpose of a discussion forum would be my guess.
So... Swordbird Club, do you have kids?
<r><FONT font="Times New Roman"><s></s>Novels not only reflect the author’s depth and skill, but their thoughts and soul. The typical book off a bookshelf shows the rather familiar ideas and thinking of an adult author. Once in a while in history, some young person debuts a book that stands out: Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was 19, Hinton wrote The Outsiders when she was 16. Recently I’ve picked up SWORDBIRD, a New York Times bestselling avian fantasy written by a 12-year-old author, Nancy Yi Fan. She’s the youngest author in HarperCollins’ publishing history. A simple yet powerful read.<e></SIZE></e></SIZE><e>[/FONT]</e></FONT></r>
hmm I have seen you post tons of others people views and opinions on the book.
1. How did you like the book?
2. How did your kids like the book?
3. Will you read it again? or should it be only a library check out?
I mean you can post me what others people say all day. that just sounds like a sellers ploy. you want me to check out a book you tell me what you thought of it or I am going to think you never read it.
If you wrote it just tell us. just out of respect we would check it out and give feed back.
Walmart even says hello to its customers and so do door to door salespeople.
jut to let you know right up front you can reply to my comment but I will not be reattending this thread on the simple fact i think you are spamming.
1. How did you like the book?
2. How did your kids like the book?
3. Will you read it again? or should it be only a library check out?
I mean you can post me what others people say all day. that just sounds like a sellers ploy. you want me to check out a book you tell me what you thought of it or I am going to think you never read it.
If you wrote it just tell us. just out of respect we would check it out and give feed back.
Walmart even says hello to its customers and so do door to door salespeople.
jut to let you know right up front you can reply to my comment but I will not be reattending this thread on the simple fact i think you are spamming.
The typical book off a bookshelf shows the rather familiar ideas and thinking of an adult author.</SIZE>[/FONT][/quote]
Please spend more time reading. If you are finding only "rather familiar ideas", you are not looking hard enough. Unusual ideas, thinking, perspectives - regardless of the author's age - abound beyond the book you are hyping/marketing.
Please spend more time reading. If you are finding only "rather familiar ideas", you are not looking hard enough. Unusual ideas, thinking, perspectives - regardless of the author's age - abound beyond the book you are hyping/marketing.
Sword Quest
Gr 4–6—In this good-versus-evil story, a prequel to Swordbird (HarperCollins, 2007), readers see a legend taking shape as evil forces attempt to conquer the inhabitants of a bird world. Prophecy says a hero will emerge on Hero’s Day, but no one knows who it will be. Scattered in unknown regions of the world lay strategically placed Leasorn gems that hold clues to where the hero’s sword waits. It is up to the hero to discover where and to retrieve it. The archaeopteryxes, an army of birds intent on cruelty and destruction, support the desires of the villainous leaders. Maldeor, a leader with a batlike wing forged from evil magic, has cast his eye toward claiming the sword. But unlikely birds lay down their lives to uncover the clues so they might save the sword for its true master. Fleydur, eagle prince of the Skythunder tribe, Stormac the mynah, and Ewingerale the woodpecker all play pivotal roles as companions to 013-Unidentified, a dovelike bird trapped as a slave. Readers will find the characters credible and well suited for their roles in this fabled adventure. The tightly crafted story line is nicely executed, but the most important element, and one that truly touches the heart, is the underlying theme of love.
—Robyn Gioia, School Library Journal
Gr 4–6—In this good-versus-evil story, a prequel to Swordbird (HarperCollins, 2007), readers see a legend taking shape as evil forces attempt to conquer the inhabitants of a bird world. Prophecy says a hero will emerge on Hero’s Day, but no one knows who it will be. Scattered in unknown regions of the world lay strategically placed Leasorn gems that hold clues to where the hero’s sword waits. It is up to the hero to discover where and to retrieve it. The archaeopteryxes, an army of birds intent on cruelty and destruction, support the desires of the villainous leaders. Maldeor, a leader with a batlike wing forged from evil magic, has cast his eye toward claiming the sword. But unlikely birds lay down their lives to uncover the clues so they might save the sword for its true master. Fleydur, eagle prince of the Skythunder tribe, Stormac the mynah, and Ewingerale the woodpecker all play pivotal roles as companions to 013-Unidentified, a dovelike bird trapped as a slave. Readers will find the characters credible and well suited for their roles in this fabled adventure. The tightly crafted story line is nicely executed, but the most important element, and one that truly touches the heart, is the underlying theme of love.
—Robyn Gioia, School Library Journal
No one wants you to check out a book. It's up to you. You can go to the bookstore to read it yourself.mmynedshlp said:
Of course I've read both Swordbird and Sword Quest although I bought them for my kids. I enjoyed reading them, so did my kids.
I regard the books as inspirations for my kids. Buying the books = buying inspirations. That's why I posted some official reviews & reports and formed a summer reading club with other parents. I think they are treasures for children's education.
<LEFT>
'Swordbird' writer's imagination soars (I)
<LEFT>
Here is an interesting recent report about Nancy Yi Fan. Take a look:
</LEFT>'Swordbird' writer's imagination soars (I)
<LEFT>
Nancy Yi Fan, 14, would love to wing her way to the Beijing Summer Olympics.
<LEFT>
The Yak imagines her flying there like Swordbird, the mythical hero of her two popular novels, "Swordbird" and "Sword Quest."
loves being part of Chinese celebrations.
with her parents.
are named after the Olympics?"
.
"I'm excited about all the things they're building, especially the main stadium. It's nicknamed Bird's Nest because the outside steel structure has irregular crisscrossing like a bird's nest."
's favorite animals. She has three pet birds, Crackleclaw, Kibbles and Plap. And guess what? "In the Chinese zodiac, there's only one bird, a rooster -- and I'm a rooster," said Nancy, who was born in 1993.
at age 7.
, she liked to sprinkle breadcrumbs on her windowsill "because I enjoyed watching a line of ants come and carry them away," she wrote in an e-mail.
"One day, I was reading a picture book when I heard scuffling sounds near my open window. I turned and saw a little sparrow perched on the windowsill. It was eating the crumbs! I was so close that I could see the patterns of brown and white around its black eyes."
and explored the wildlife there.
"After school, I'd dump my backpack in my room and run outside. Fields of wild grass, chest high, grew on one slope of a hill. Their sweet scent was at times dizzying and I had to squint my eyes through all the dazzle of flowers.
"There were no words to express what I felt. Here it was just me and nature. It was as if nature had set up a special game for me, but I had to find out the rules myself. Sometimes it would be a quest to find the source of a stream. Other times it would be scavenging for blackberries or identifying birds. But most of the time, I sat under a tree, listening to them breathe softly, and pondering about fantasy stories."
’s walks taught her “patience and calm” and “to try to find something extraordinary in everything that is mundane,” she said, adding:
“Now, I often think back on those days of rambling in the forest for guidance and inspiration.”
. She stayed for two years.
In Bejing, she polished her novel and sent it to an American editor after her finding her e-mail address online.
“We didn’t even know she was trying to find a publisher until we received an international call from HarperCollins!” said her father, laughing.
elementary school.
.”
, she saw “a magnetic levitation train whirl by floating on magnets, which was pretty cool,” and gave another talk at a high school.
“All the students were clapping thunderously when I finished,” she said.
But it hasn’t gone to her head.
“She’s worked very hard,” said her father. “When she writes, she’s totally involved in her world. If you call her name, she will not answer. She is doing what she likes.”</LEFT>
<LEFT>
</LEFT><LEFT>
The Yak imagines her flying there like Swordbird, the mythical hero of her two popular novels, "Swordbird" and "Sword Quest."
loves being part of Chinese celebrations.
with her parents.
are named after the Olympics?"
.
"I'm excited about all the things they're building, especially the main stadium. It's nicknamed Bird's Nest because the outside steel structure has irregular crisscrossing like a bird's nest."
's favorite animals. She has three pet birds, Crackleclaw, Kibbles and Plap. And guess what? "In the Chinese zodiac, there's only one bird, a rooster -- and I'm a rooster," said Nancy, who was born in 1993.
at age 7.
, she liked to sprinkle breadcrumbs on her windowsill "because I enjoyed watching a line of ants come and carry them away," she wrote in an e-mail.
"One day, I was reading a picture book when I heard scuffling sounds near my open window. I turned and saw a little sparrow perched on the windowsill. It was eating the crumbs! I was so close that I could see the patterns of brown and white around its black eyes."
and explored the wildlife there.
"After school, I'd dump my backpack in my room and run outside. Fields of wild grass, chest high, grew on one slope of a hill. Their sweet scent was at times dizzying and I had to squint my eyes through all the dazzle of flowers.
"There were no words to express what I felt. Here it was just me and nature. It was as if nature had set up a special game for me, but I had to find out the rules myself. Sometimes it would be a quest to find the source of a stream. Other times it would be scavenging for blackberries or identifying birds. But most of the time, I sat under a tree, listening to them breathe softly, and pondering about fantasy stories."
’s walks taught her “patience and calm” and “to try to find something extraordinary in everything that is mundane,” she said, adding:
“Now, I often think back on those days of rambling in the forest for guidance and inspiration.”
. She stayed for two years.
In Bejing, she polished her novel and sent it to an American editor after her finding her e-mail address online.
“We didn’t even know she was trying to find a publisher until we received an international call from HarperCollins!” said her father, laughing.
elementary school.
.”
, she saw “a magnetic levitation train whirl by floating on magnets, which was pretty cool,” and gave another talk at a high school.
“All the students were clapping thunderously when I finished,” she said.
But it hasn’t gone to her head.
“She’s worked very hard,” said her father. “When she writes, she’s totally involved in her world. If you call her name, she will not answer. She is doing what she likes.”
<LEFT>
. It has three courses: first, the crispy duck skin, rolled in a pancake, then roasted meat followed by a broth made from the bones.
</LEFT>
<LEFT>
<LEFT>
<LEFT>
</LEFT>'Swordbird' writer's imagination soars (II)</SIZE>[/FONT]
More on [/FONT]'s writing[/COLOR]
</LEFT>More on [/FONT]'s writing[/COLOR]
<LEFT>
<FONT font="Georgia">Like all kids, author Nancy Yi Fan loves movies. Her favorites are “Happy Feet” and “Ice Age.”
“But I’m really more of a book person,” the 14-year-old author told the Yak recently.
“I read lots of books. I go to the library even week and carry a stack back.”
(Her favorite book is “Charlotte<FONT font="Georgia">’s Web.)
Like the Yak, Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> reads for pleasure, but also to do research for her stories. She’s written two best-selling novels, “Swordbird” and “Swordquest,” both set in make-believe forests inhabited by birds that talk, drink acorn tea and sometimes have to fight evil invaders.
“Swordquest,” the second book, was a prequel to her first. But Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> may not be done writing about birds. She’s thinking about a third novel with some of the same characters.
“It may be a sequel to “Sword Quest” but still a prequel — something set in the middle of “Swordquest” and “Swordbird,” time-wise, he said. “I guess by and by I’ll try to write about humans.”
In yakking with her, the Yak realized he and Nancy have something else in common: they use music to write, but in different ways.
“I like listening to classical music,” said Nancy<FONT font="Georgia">. “It relaxes me. It’s easy to listen and write and the music has good rhythm. The rhythm gets into the words.”
(The Yak hums softly when he writes. He didn’t even realize he was doing it until one day, a friend said: “You’re doing it again.” It’s hard to stop and it’s harmless, right? And the Yak agrees: It does help with rhythm.)
Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> also has a second writing aid: drawing.
“I love drawing,” she said. “It’s like acting something out. I draw out scenes, and it helps me organize. What is the logic – near to far, up and down? Drawing helps make my thoughts flow.”
For example, mapping the home territories of the various bird species in her books is a good way to figure out how they cold best escape if attacked. How far away do the attackers live? How might they be vulnerable to a counter-attack?
China<FONT font="Georgia"> and her nature adventures.
“I’m inspired by the Chinese ghost stories my grandmother used to tell me and bits of Chinese culture,” she said.
So she’s trying hard to hold onto that culture while she’s far away from home.
“I think I brought all my Chinese textbooks with me,” said Nancy, who is in ninth grade.
“I think it’s very important to keep my culture, to speak my language. I received a letter from Jackie Chan, the martial arts star. He said he was really happy, really glad to hear that I had kept my Chinese culture.”
(Chan is a famou Chinese actor whose many Kung Fu movies are well-known in the United States<FONT font="Georgia"> and around the world.)
United States<FONT font="Georgia"> at age seven.
“I could say, ‘Hello, how are you?’ ’’ she said.
But her inability to communicate had an upside.
“She was lonely,” said her father. “Not being able to speak, she read a lot of books.”
Now, she speaks and writes beautifully in English and it’s easy to make new friends.
“Like now, if I’m speaking English, it’s very strange sometimes. I can think in English and Chinese. I can switch over to either side and I don’t have to do any translating. Right now, I’m learning some French.”
In reading “Swordbird,” the Yak also thought he detected a hint of Native American influence — and he was right! Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> said that before writing about it, she had learned about the life of the early Iroquois Indians, who were well-known to the British and French settlers. (The Iroquois Nation still exists today and has six Iroquois tribes, including the Mohawks and Seneca.)
“I learned about the Great Spirit, which I thought was a good name for the Creator,” she said. “And they had a lot of animal tales.”
When Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> isn’t writing, her busy schedule includes keeping up with fan mail, practicing martial arts — a type of Kung Fu that uses swords — and studying for the SATs.
For more about and her books, visit www.swordbird.googlepages.com[/URL]
</LEFT>“But I’m really more of a book person,” the 14-year-old author told the Yak recently.
“I read lots of books. I go to the library even week and carry a stack back.”
(Her favorite book is “Charlotte<FONT font="Georgia">’s Web.)
Like the Yak, Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> reads for pleasure, but also to do research for her stories. She’s written two best-selling novels, “Swordbird” and “Swordquest,” both set in make-believe forests inhabited by birds that talk, drink acorn tea and sometimes have to fight evil invaders.
“Swordquest,” the second book, was a prequel to her first. But Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> may not be done writing about birds. She’s thinking about a third novel with some of the same characters.
“It may be a sequel to “Sword Quest” but still a prequel — something set in the middle of “Swordquest” and “Swordbird,” time-wise, he said. “I guess by and by I’ll try to write about humans.”
In yakking with her, the Yak realized he and Nancy have something else in common: they use music to write, but in different ways.
“I like listening to classical music,” said Nancy<FONT font="Georgia">. “It relaxes me. It’s easy to listen and write and the music has good rhythm. The rhythm gets into the words.”
(The Yak hums softly when he writes. He didn’t even realize he was doing it until one day, a friend said: “You’re doing it again.” It’s hard to stop and it’s harmless, right? And the Yak agrees: It does help with rhythm.)
Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> also has a second writing aid: drawing.
“I love drawing,” she said. “It’s like acting something out. I draw out scenes, and it helps me organize. What is the logic – near to far, up and down? Drawing helps make my thoughts flow.”
For example, mapping the home territories of the various bird species in her books is a good way to figure out how they cold best escape if attacked. How far away do the attackers live? How might they be vulnerable to a counter-attack?
China<FONT font="Georgia"> and her nature adventures.
“I’m inspired by the Chinese ghost stories my grandmother used to tell me and bits of Chinese culture,” she said.
So she’s trying hard to hold onto that culture while she’s far away from home.
“I think I brought all my Chinese textbooks with me,” said Nancy, who is in ninth grade.
“I think it’s very important to keep my culture, to speak my language. I received a letter from Jackie Chan, the martial arts star. He said he was really happy, really glad to hear that I had kept my Chinese culture.”
(Chan is a famou Chinese actor whose many Kung Fu movies are well-known in the United States<FONT font="Georgia"> and around the world.)
United States<FONT font="Georgia"> at age seven.
“I could say, ‘Hello, how are you?’ ’’ she said.
But her inability to communicate had an upside.
“She was lonely,” said her father. “Not being able to speak, she read a lot of books.”
Now, she speaks and writes beautifully in English and it’s easy to make new friends.
“Like now, if I’m speaking English, it’s very strange sometimes. I can think in English and Chinese. I can switch over to either side and I don’t have to do any translating. Right now, I’m learning some French.”
In reading “Swordbird,” the Yak also thought he detected a hint of Native American influence — and he was right! Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> said that before writing about it, she had learned about the life of the early Iroquois Indians, who were well-known to the British and French settlers. (The Iroquois Nation still exists today and has six Iroquois tribes, including the Mohawks and Seneca.)
“I learned about the Great Spirit, which I thought was a good name for the Creator,” she said. “And they had a lot of animal tales.”
When Nancy<FONT font="Georgia"> isn’t writing, her busy schedule includes keeping up with fan mail, practicing martial arts — a type of Kung Fu that uses swords — and studying for the SATs.
For more about and her books, visit www.swordbird.googlepages.com[/URL]
