Nerdy Birdy, written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Matt Davies, was the first book we read in our classroom this year. The theme of inclusion is an essential element for building a classroom community. In the story, the main character, Nerdy Birdy, doesn’t fit in with the “cool” birdies. While they are busy hunting, eating worms, and posing, Nerdy Birdy is busy reading and playing “World of Wormcraft”. Nerdy Birdy is lonely and the cool birdies make him feel like an outsider. That is, until he meets the other nerdy birdies, They invite him to join because “there’s always room for another nerdy birdy”. Then, Vulture moves in. Nerdy Birdy invites him to hang out with the other nerdy birdies, but they quickly start questioning whether Vulture belongs with them. Nerdy Birdy faces a dilemma: stay with his new-found friends or befriend Vulture? Remembering how it feels to be alone, Nerdy Birdy chooses a friendship with Vulture. Even though they do not have everything in common, they find common ground in their friendship. And they always have room for another birdy.
This book fits perfectly into any Social Emotional Learning curriculum. It celebrates individuality and promotes an inclusive community. Nerdy Birdy also models how to be an “upstander” by standing up for what is right, even if it means being alone. We plan to loop back to this story at the end of the year with a reread and our very own "Nerdy Birdy" class picture, where each child comes to school dressed to show their true colors and interests. It is sure to be a great send off and a sweet memento aimed to remind them to embrace everyone and be true to themselves.
Nerdy Birdy also has multiple opportunities to re-visit as a mentor text for the writers in your classroom. The use of dialogue in the book is a good transition from speech bubbles into traditional use of quotation marks. We like to use graphic novels and comics to help the students see what belongs inside of the quotation marks. In Nerdy Birdy, the dialogue is written inside quotation marks, but is right next to the character similar to a speech bubble. There is also an opportunity to look at how to use non-fiction text features in fiction storytelling. The book has multiple diagrams, lists, and labels used to convey information about the characters. It’s a great example of how authors and illustrators play with the elements of fiction and non-fiction and an excellent invitation to growing writers to blend elements in their own writing and illustrating.
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