Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing

EVERY WORD IS A BIRD WE TEACH TO SING by Daniel Tammet (Born on a Blue Day) is a truly amazing book. I am so impressed by Tammet’s writing and, frankly, do not have the words to adequately describe how lyrical this text feels. Tammet, autistic and multi-lingual, clearly loves language in a way that many of us never experience:

"Chord. … It is a golden word. Gold, white and red. …And if you retype the words in small letters, reordering them to spell dcorh, and then trim the tops off the tall letters, the d and the h, do you see the anagram acorn?”   OR

“One day, intent on my reading, I happened on lollipop and a shock of joy coursed through me. I read it as 1011ipop. One thousand and eleven, divisible by three, was a fittingly round number shape, and I thought it the most beautiful I had yet read: half number and half word.”

Sentences like those stretch our brains and give a sense of what it is like to be synesthetic, understanding numbers and words through shapes and colors. EVERY WORD IS A BIRD WE TEACH TO SING received a starred review from Booklist, should work well for AP definition essays and could provide some enthralling prompts for our Senior English electives, especially Creative Writing.

Reflecting on words and differences in learning, I also wanted to comment upon DYSLEXIA IS MY SUPERPOWER by Margaret Rooke, a truly inspirational book which features interviews with over 100 children (ages 8 to 18) who have experienced dyslexia.  From numerous countries, these young people are the obvious experts and were able to movingly describe their feelings:  “One of my strongest memories is the grin I had on my face when I found out I was definitely dyslexic. I wasn’t just not very good at spelling; I had a reason for not being good at spelling.  It was one of my best days.”

The interviewees offer numerous insights and suggestions for teachers and other adults in their lives.  Parents of students with dyslexia (like Margaret Rooke herself) will find her book to be a valuable, informative resource. I was especially impressed by the very positive attitudes which these children expressed.  Add DYSLEXIA IS MY SUPERPOWER to your shelf next to Sally Shaywitz’s Overcoming Dyslexia - that best-selling book was originally published in 2003 and is definitely due for an update. Even though I work with high school students, DYSLEXIA IS MY SUPERPOWER also made me want to read the middle grade story Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt; it’s about a young girl with dyslexia and received several starred reviews.