McKissack, P. (1988). Mirandy and Brother Wind. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
Brief Annotation: Mirandy wants to win the cake walk and thinks that catching the wind is the key to her success. Her attempts to capture Brother Wind lead her to an important realization about friendship and self-confidence.
Genre: Picturebook, Historical Fiction
Grade Level: 3-5
Readers who will like this: students who like folk elements in stories, children who respond to authentic dialogue, readers who enjoy happy endings.
Response/Rating (1-4): **** Told in Jerry Pinkney’s beautiful watercolor illustrations and text that reflects Southern Black culture, this story puts a smile on my face each time I read it. I love that this historically set story incorporates realism and folktale, and I believe that this book provides a platform to discuss the elements of folk takes that become incorporated into stories families pass down through generations.
One question you would ask before a read aloud: Do you think you could catch the wind? How?
Reading Strategies Connection: Book Bits (Yopp & Yopp, 27-32). Book bits is a pre-reading activity that requires the teacher to take quotations and sentences from a book, typing each one on a separate strip of paper and distributing one to each student in the class. The teacher than tells students that their sentences all come from the same book and instructs them to read theirs silently (helping students who are struggling readers). Have students on what their book bit means or says about the story and record these ideas in writing. Then have students circulate the room, reading their selection to one partner at a time, with no discussion, so that students have an opportunity to hear many excerpts from the book. After circulating, students return to desks to reevaluate their ideas about what the book might be about. Students then gather in small groups to share their observations and predictions. For Mirandy and Bother Wind, here are some examples of excerpts that could be used as book bits:
“He come high steppin’ through Ridgetop, dressed in his finest and trailing that long, silvery wind cape behind him.”
“There’s an old saying that whoever catch the Wind can make him do their bidding.”
“Can’t nobody put shackles on Brother Wind, chile. He be special. He be free.”
I think Book Bits would be a good one for this text. Since there is some language and usage that might be unfamiliar, this would get students into the text before they started to read (or were read the text). It will help them be more successful in reading this story.
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