Swordbird (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Mark Zug (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: theater birds, cardinal leader, old blue jay, Fortress Glooming, Appleby Hills, Book of Heresy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Yi Fan's tightly woven story delivers a manifest message promoting peace and freedom. Starring woodland bird characters, the saga pits the tyrannical hawk Turnatt, captor of "slavebirds" whom he shackles and puts to work building his fortress, against the cardinals and blue jays. Though once friendly, these two benign flocks are now at war: Turnatt's soldiers have stolen eggs and food from each flock (the hawk eats a purloined egg daily, believing this will "keep death away"), and have led each camp to believe the other is responsible for the thefts. One of the slavebirds, a robin named Miltin, escapes to tell Aska, a brave young jay, about Turnatt's evil doings and his plan to enslave all the local woodbirds. Blue jays and cardinals join forces to vanquish the despot, a mission that entails several diverting twists, including a search for the necessary elements to summon the Swordbird, the "mystical white bird, the son of the Great Spirit." The author occasionally relieves the tale's ample tension with snippets of humor. While feasting with a traveling troupe of winged thespians, for instance, the cardinals and blue jays drive away Turnatt's marauding forces by bombarding them with bean soup and raspberry pies. Experienced readers will recognize the familiar allegory here, but the book will likely appeal to Redwall fans, and this young writer is worth watching. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)
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From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—The Stone-Run Country is in peril. The blue jays' Bluewingle tribe and their former friends, the cardinals of the Sunrise tribe, have gone to war. Each side believes the other to have stolen its food and eggs, little suspecting the malicious hawk, Turnatt, along with his hoard of crows and ravens. Now he is intent on forcing all of the local woodbirds to work on his magnificent fortress, and it's up to a variety of brave avians to upset the villain's plans. Their only hope lies in summoning the great warrior, Swordbird, to assist them in their time of need. Fan wrote the book when she was 11 as a response to a world at war; it goes without saying that she is very talented. However, the book essentially reuses old tropes in a new setting, making the plot, pacing, and characters more than a little predictable and, for all of its charms, the story is overly familiar. Dialogue runs to the clunky with lines like, "I'll get you, me and my crew will" and "You'll pay for that, scalawag!" The greatest credit should be given to the illustrator, who took the author's imagery and made it believable as well as attractive.—Elizabeth Bird, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061130990
• ISBN-13: 978-0061130991
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #371,792 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A solid first try, considering, but..., May 2, 2007

By	R. C. Hall - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First off, even though I am an adult (or as close to one as I'll ever be), I read a great deal of children's fiction and enjoy reading it, so I'm not necessarily looking for the same type of depth and complexity that an average adult would expect from fiction.

That said, I had to force myself to finish reading this one; it kept losing my interest no matter how often I came back to it. With so many people at the publisher apparently involved in this book, I'm surprised that no one was able to help the author smooth out the dialogue, for one thing. As much as I wanted to like the characters, they felt like Redwall extras, and I'm sorry to say that I never really found myself caring what happened to them. The story's style and structure also felt like Redwall retreads.

I can understand that allowances have to be made for young authors, and this author is, of course, highly gifted for her age. But the fact remains that, if it were not for the "hook" of the author's age, I don't think this book would have gotten published, especially not by a major publisher, and if you're going to read the book solely for its own merits, you'll wind up being disappointed. (I can see, however, that it would be a great inspiration to other young writers.)

The one thing I really loved about this book were the detailed pencil illustrations of the birds -- remarkably realistic and yet with their own personalities. I wish they hadn't started repeating, though; I would have liked to see more.

Overall, I'm looking forward to seeing what this author will do in several more years, as her skills catch up with her talent.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little book with a big moral, June 25, 2007

A Kid's Review

The story, simple as it might seem to be, contains something profound and meaningful to the world: it sows the seeds of peace and freedom in the hearts of children who read it. You can find volumes of bloody, gory battles for adults, yet you can hardly find such a story for children that, through an idyllic world of birds, so gently and yet so vividly illustrates the price of battle, the value of life, the weight of peace and freedom.



A book that's great all the way.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We love Swordbird!, June 8, 2007

A Kid's Review

A group of young writers like me regularly visit Nancy's website to chat on her message board. I want to quote some of us to share our thoughts with other kids!

I just want to say, your book was very enjoyable, and I have recommended it to all of my friends. I think you will be the most famous author in the world, next to Charles Dickens and J. K. Rowling. Well, it'll be really cool if you can email me back along with your probably other thousands of fans.
-Sunghyun Kim (10 yrs old, CA)

Isn't it just amazing to think that such an original story such as swordbird can come from someone of this age? She really captured a sense of freedom in this story and not many people can truly write from their hearts about how they feel about that kind of thing. Nancy will always remain a favorite author of mine and swordbird, a favorite book.
My favorite part of the whole book is the epilogue where Aska leaves swordbird's feather on Milton's grave and the grave seems to get brighter.
Long live Windvoice! Happy Writing!
- Emily R.

I would strongly recommend this book to ages nine and up. I think it is worth spending money for Swordbird. I enjoyed it very much. The book uses strong words that are very powerful.
This book reminded me of some events in history, slavery. I would recommend this book for those who like the Redwall and Warriors. I would also recommend this book to strong readers, people who like action, powerful words, and those who enjoy a great story.
- Kaitlyn (11 yrs old)

An outstanding book I've ever read before! Nancy Yi Fan has a amazing talent for writing. The plot was just outstanding! Brilliant work Nancy! It was worth it!
-Hazel H. (13 yrs old)