Wing Nut
Wing Nut . Auch, MJ; Henry Holt and Company, 2005
Grade Level: 6-8
ISBN & Cost: 0-8050-7531-3, $16.95
Synopsis: Grady, twelve years old and fatherless, has never had a real home that he can remember. He and his mother Lila, who puts on an appearance of eternal optimism, have traveled from place to place, without staying long enough anywhere for either to feel a true sense of belonging. Now their car has broken down after they have left their latest home in a commune, forcing a stop at the residence of an older gentleman named Charlie, a man who prefers to hang out with bird friends, who are purple martins, rather than people. Grady and Charlie, who is also without a family close by , begin an unlikely friendship, eventually realizing that they have much to learn from each other.
General Review: Anyone who has ever been the “new kid” in any group will be able to identify with Grady as he faces the difficulties of attempting to fit in to new surroundings as he and his mother constantly move. This book tells this story through Grady’s eyes, but also makes the reader aware that there are others facing difficulties from different points of view as well, including adults such as Grady’s mother and Charlie.
Themes: Moving, Household; Mothers and sons; Home; Old age; Family relationships; Transients
Author information: “MJ Auch lives in upstate New York, where she is trying to start her own purple martin colony,” Henry Holt and Company, LLC. See these websites for more information:
Discussion Questions: (Standard 3; Benchmark 3)
1) P.87 relates the story of how some older boys tricked Grady and laughed at him.
How did that make Grady feel?
Have you ever been the “new kid” in class or some other group?
Have you experienced this situation from the other point of view, and made fun of the “new kid?”
2) What are some ways that Grady, his mom, and Charlie, can relate to the need of the purple martins to return to their homes year after year?
3) Why does Charlie name one favorite purple martin “Marie?”
4) Grady and his mom both get angry with Charlie for harming the house sparrows, but Charlie has a different point of view. How might they have resolved these differences of opinion rather than the way they did in the book?
Activities:
1) Grady and his mom live in a “commune” as the book opens. What is a commune, and why do Grady and his mother live there, and then decide to leave? Look up information about communes in an encyclopedia, or other reference source, and find examples of other types of communes.
Standard 1, Benchmark 5
2)Do some research on purple martins, by finding several books, and/or going to these websites.
(discussed in the book)
Standard 1, Benchmark 5
3)Make a map of the route followed by purple martins on their trips to and from Brazil.
Standard 7, Benchmark 1
Similar Books for Further Reading:
Paterson, Katherine, The Great Gilly Hopkins
Wersba, Barbara, The Wings of Courage
Adler, C. S, Fly Free
George, Jean Craighead. Charlie’s Raven
Loizeaux, William. Wings