In my picture book, Princess and the Ziz, a princess flies
all over the world on the back of a giant yellow bird. The
Princess and the Ziz is my own retelling of a very old Rapunzel tale
involving King Solomon’s daughter who was rescued from a tower by a giant
yellow bird called the Ziz.
During author visits, I often
challenge young writers to imagine what it would be like to ride on the back of
a giant bird. Where would you want to go? I’ve had many lively discussions with
students about where they would like to go if they could ride in the air with a
bird. While some students say the Bahamas, Disney World, or some other vacation
spot, others tell me they’d like to visit grandparents or other relatives. One
student told me she would like to fly over the rainbow with a giant bird. Now
wouldn’t that make a good story!
Once a destination has been
decided, students can brainstorm what they would see. If you are flying over
Antartica, you might see penguins and snow. If you are flying over the jungle,
you would see lots of greenery. Ask younger students to describe the scene in
as much detail as possible. Older students could combine this writing exercise
with geographic research. For example: If you were flying over Egypt, you would
see pyramids. What else?
From there, students should
consider what they would hear on their journey through the air. On the back of
a bird, not enclosed the way you are in an airplane, you would hear the wind
and the flapping of wings. Could you describe that? If you were flying over a
city, you would hear the noise of traffic and building construction. What would
that sound like? This could be an opportunity to encourage your students to use
onomatopoeia. Students could make up their own words to imitate what they
might hear from way up in the sky.
Finally, how would it feel to
be in the sky on the back of a giant bird. Would you be frightened or excited?
Would it be chilly? Would the ride be smooth or bumpy?
Visit my website for a writing template to use in your primary classrooms.
The Princess and the Ziz is certainly not the only book which depicts a
character flying in the sky via a giant bird. In Roald Dahl’s The Minpins, Little Billy flies around
the world having adventures on the back of a giant swan. Fairy tales also depict
characters riding on the backs of birds. Thumbelina in the story by Hans Christian Andersen flies on the back of a swallow.
Ask your students to write their
own story about a character flying with the help of a friendly bird. Imaginations
and feathers can soar through the clouds. Happy Flying!
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