McQ's Book Selection

I happened upon a book titled “Kylie’s Song” written by Patty Sheehan. Patty Sheehan has a background in both teaching and counseling. It was published by Advocacy Press, a publishing group that supports and develops equity oriented publications for young children, adolescents and young adults. This book could be appropriate for children of all ages. The story is simple and relatable. It takes place in Australia. A young koala bear named Kylie is naturally inclined to sing. The dilemma is that Koalas do not sing, so she is ridiculed by her peers. At first, she ignores the comments made by others. Eventually, the harassment gets so bad that she runs away and cries. Her mother tries to comfort her and recommends that although she enjoys singing perhaps she should never sing again in order to fit in with the other koalas and avoid conflict. The mother koala admits that she too yearns to sing, but holds back in order to avoid ridicule. So, Kylie stops singing, however her mother notices a change in her behavior and emotional state. Kylie just isn’t the same, more solemn. So, as Kylie reaches the age of maturity and moves on to her own tree, her mother decides to support Kylie’s passion for singing. She tells Kylie to find a tree where she can sing because she wants her to do the thing she loves. So Kylie heads off and finds a place where a platypus plays the drums and a wallaby dances. She joins the band of misfits and pursues her passion. She takes singing lessons from a bird and becomes a celebrated singer in the community. Even those that made fun of her before praised her singing and learned to accept her differences. In the end she becomes a role model for other koalas that want to sing, including her mom.

In this book, after the end of the story there is a brief description of multiple intelligences. It concludes with ways adults can support young creative minds. There is also a list of great discussion questions already included, like “What did mama koala learn from Kylie at the end of the story?” The discussion could diverge away from the book into the lives of the students. Students could team up and discuss ways stereotypes influence behavior. Students could write downs their dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem and draw a picture or make a collage to go with it. Students too young or unable to write about their desires could draw a picture of what they want to be when they grow up. Different activities could be set up to challenge gender stereotypes, such as girls playing football and boys cheering on the sidelines. This story could also be used as a tool to gain insight on a student’s interests or talents.
-McQ, Art