Le Vol des oiseaux

BASIC INFO	LANGUAGE LEVEL	COMPREHENSION-AIDING FEATURES
Book Title Le Vol des oiseaux (The Theft of the Birds) Author(s) Kristy Placido Illustrator(s) Robert Matsudaira (2009 edition) P.N. Tankersley (2023 edition) Other Contributors French adaptation by Rhonda Wilson and Krista Kovalchick Edited by Carol Gaab Published by Fluency Matters, now part of Wayside Publishing Genre Realistic Fiction Publication date 2023 (Second Edition) #Ownvoices No Note: The original book, titled Robo en la noche, was written in Spanish for Spanish learners.	From the author/publisher’s website Level 2 and up Total Word Count 9500 (312 unique words)	Illustrations YES Glossary YES Guiding Questions NO Context NO Other Teacher’s guide available for separate purchase

IDENTITIES PRESENT IN THE TEXT		SYNOPSIS
Races, Ethnicities, and Nationalities White Black US-American Cameroonian No information provided about the national origins of the main characters in the text. Languages spoken French Sex and Genders Female Male Ages Teenager: 13-18 Young Adult: 18-35 Mid-life Adult: 35-65 Senior Adult: 65+ Social classes Poor (2009 edition) Other: unsure (2023 edition)	Sexual Orientation Heterosexual (Dis)Abilities and Neurotypes No (dis)abilities or neurotypes mentioned. Religions, Syncretism, and Spirituality “God” is mentioned once without particular faith affiliation (p. 13, 2nd edition, 2023). Relationship and Family Structures Heteroparental Body Descriptions Issa – thinner, taller than her mother (p. 16, 2nd edition, 2023) No other main character descriptions provided in the text.	From the author/publisher’s website Fifteen-year-old Nathalie Gauthier had reservations about her father’s new job in Africa, but little did she know that missing her home and her friends would be the least of her worries. She finds herself in the middle of an illegal bird-trading scheme, and it’s a race against time for her father to save her and the treasured African Greys.

ILLUSTRATIONS	STORY	SOCIAL JUSTICE
To what extent do the illustrations present positive and thoughtful representations of identities? The original (2009 copyright) version with the black cover features several simple cartoonish illustrations in which Docteur Gauthier and his daughter Nathalie are presented as white while all Cameroonian locals are depicted with black skin color. The later copy of the 1st edition (2009 copyright) with the bird on the cover includes the same drawings that do not explicitly indicate the racial identities of any characters based on skin-tone. However, the characters who are from Cameroon, where the book is set, are illustrated with black hair. The second edition (2023 copyright) includes cover art and illustrations that depict characters in a more realistic way. In this edition, Nathalie and her father, Docteur Gauthier are presented as people of color. Additionally, characters from Cameroon are shown with a range of skin tones.	We understand identities are complex and no single story represents the spectrum of identity-based experiences. Also, a text may address a stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization without relying on it. *Does any stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization affect any positive and thoughtful representations of identities in the text?* Characters of color are assumed to have low family wealth. Social situations and problems are seen as individual problems, not situated within a societal context.	This section is for teachers who are working towards sourcing more texts within the four domains of anti-bias education. We are excited about reading all books and we understand that not all books are written for this specific purpose. *Does this text work toward goals within any of the* four domains of anti-bias education as defined by Learning for Justice? No

LLLAB’s REVIEW
Content Warning: Animal Trafficking; death of a parent and of spouse prior to the events in the book; characters held in captivity. Le Vol des oiseaux (2009) tells the story of Nathalie, a teen whose mother has died, and who is moving from Michigan, USA, to Cameroon with her father for his new job as a wild bird specialist in a bird reserve. Nathalie starts to find peace with her new life as a caretaker for some baby birds who were hatched in captivity, but she soon finds out that animal and bird egg trafficking are a problem in Cameroon, even in the bird sanctuary. She is suspicious of Jengo, the boyfriend of the woman who works with Nathalie at the reserve. The new edition of the book (2nd edition, 2023) varies significantly from the original 1st edition (2009). While this review focuses on the 2023 edition, we have also included a summary of major differences in the Important Notes section at the end of this review, as some teachers may already have copies of the 1st edition of this book on their shelves. At the beginning of the book, the reader meets Nathalie, who is still mourning the death of her mother in a car accident three years prior to the events of the book. Natalie has no one to talk to about the questions she has related to her mother’s death, or about her feelings, as her father doesn’t want to discuss the death (p. 3). In Cameroon, Nathalie meets an older woman, Malika. Nathalie finds comfort knowing that Malika found happiness after the death of her first husband and at the same time still mourns his loss. Later, as Nathalie reflects on her conversations with Malika and her daughter Issa, she realizes that these women would welcome her questions and be there for her to talk to if she ever needed it (pp. 17, 27). Through the act of taking care of rescued baby birds, Nathalie finds purpose and becomes an expert in working with birds. Three months later, she takes pride in releasing her grown bird–Mimi, named after her mother–into the wild (pp. 77-79). After conversations with people working at the reserve, Nathalie begins to understand the passion and dedication of her own father to his work and the cause that is important to him (p. 34). Tavon, who works at the bird reserve, meets Nathalie and her father for the first time at the airport. During the train ride to the reserve, Tavon makes a few generic statements about Cameroon, including its geography and its languages. The descriptions are not specific and could apply to any number of countries: “Le Cameroun occupe une grande région et la géographie est diversifiée. Il y a le désert, des montagnes et des plages. Il y a beaucoup d’animaux et de plantes différentes” / Cameroon occupies a large region and the geography is diverse. There is a desert, mountains, and beaches. There are a lot of different animals and plants (p. 8, second edition). Originally perceived as a great employee of the reserve, Tavon turns out to be a collaborator with the bird thieves, because he needed money for his mother’s medication. He is captured along with the thieves and testifies against them during the hearing, but the story does not mention anything about his fate. In fact, at the end of the trial for the thieves Nathalie thinks, “Tavon va-t-il aussi aller en prison?” / Will Tavon also go to prison? (p. 81), but there is no resolution or discussion of societal causes that may have led Tavon to stealing in order to pay for his mother’s medication. Nathalie bonds with Issa, who teaches her about caring for the birds at the reserve. When Nathalie witnesses how Jengo, Issa’s boyfriend, treats Issa, she thinks that Jengo is horrible (p. 28). When Nathalie overhears Jengo on the phone, she questions if Jengo has another girlfriend (p. 35). Initially, Issa explains that Jengo has problems at work and he is stressed (p. 39). Later, Issa asks Nathalie if she has a boyfriend and continues to share that she has suspicions of Jengo’s infidelity (p. 49) and asks Nathalie if the age difference between her and Jengo is ridiculous: “Il est plus jeune que moi. J’ai quarante-trois ans et il a seulement trente-deux ans. C’est ridicule?” / He is younger than me. I am 44 and he is only 32. Is it ridiculous? (p. 50) The teacher may want to discuss to what extent the adults should share their relationship struggles and other personal matters with teens. Finally, when Nathalie finds the motorbike that resembles Jengo’s in the forest, she tells Issa about it and the phone conversation she had overheard earlier. Issa asks Nathalie to show her the motorbike in the forest to identify it–“Nathalie, tu veux venir avec moi? J’ai besoin de voir cette moto. Si Jengo est ici, je veux savoir pourquoi.” / Nathalie, do you want to come with me? I need to see this motorbike. If Jengo is here, I want to know why (p. 59)–and they set out to search for it in the forest in the dark of the night. The teacher may want to ask students if Issa’s motives justify involving both of them in potentially dangerous situations, especially given that Nathalie is an unrelated teenager.

LLLAB’s REVIEW

Content Warning: Animal Trafficking; death of a parent and of spouse prior to the events in the book; characters held in captivity.

Le Vol des oiseaux (2009) tells the story of Nathalie, a teen whose mother has died, and who is moving from Michigan, USA, to Cameroon with her father for his new job as a wild bird specialist in a bird reserve. Nathalie starts to find peace with her new life as a caretaker for some baby birds who were hatched in captivity, but she soon finds out that animal and bird egg trafficking are a problem in Cameroon, even in the bird sanctuary. She is suspicious of Jengo, the boyfriend of the woman who works with Nathalie at the reserve.

The new edition of the book (2nd edition, 2023) varies significantly from the original 1st edition (2009). While this review focuses on the 2023 edition, we have also included a summary of major differences in the Important Notes section at the end of this review, as some teachers may already have copies of the 1st edition of this book on their shelves.

At the beginning of the book, the reader meets Nathalie, who is still mourning the death of her mother in a car accident three years prior to the events of the book. Natalie has no one to talk to about the questions she has related to her mother’s death, or about her feelings, as her father doesn’t want to discuss the death (p. 3). In Cameroon, Nathalie meets an older woman, Malika. Nathalie finds comfort knowing that Malika found happiness after the death of her first husband and at the same time still mourns his loss. Later, as Nathalie reflects on her conversations with Malika and her daughter Issa, she realizes that these women would welcome her questions and be there for her to talk to if she ever needed it (pp. 17, 27).

Through the act of taking care of rescued baby birds, Nathalie finds purpose and becomes an expert in working with birds. Three months later, she takes pride in releasing her grown bird–Mimi, named after her mother–into the wild (pp. 77-79). After conversations with people working at the reserve, Nathalie begins to understand the passion and dedication of her own father to his work and the cause that is important to him (p. 34).

Tavon, who works at the bird reserve, meets Nathalie and her father for the first time at the airport. During the train ride to the reserve, Tavon makes a few generic statements about Cameroon, including its geography and its languages. The descriptions are not specific and could apply to any number of countries: “Le Cameroun occupe une grande région et la géographie est diversifiée. Il y a le désert, des montagnes et des plages. Il y a beaucoup d’animaux et de plantes différentes” / Cameroon occupies a large region and the geography is diverse. There is a desert, mountains, and beaches. There are a lot of different animals and plants (p. 8, second edition).

Originally perceived as a great employee of the reserve, Tavon turns out to be a collaborator with the bird thieves, because he needed money for his mother’s medication. He is captured along with the thieves and testifies against them during the hearing, but the story does not mention anything about his fate. In fact, at the end of the trial for the thieves Nathalie thinks, “Tavon va-t-il aussi aller en prison?” / Will Tavon also go to prison? (p. 81), but there is no resolution or discussion of societal causes that may have led Tavon to stealing in order to pay for his mother’s medication.

Nathalie bonds with Issa, who teaches her about caring for the birds at the reserve. When Nathalie witnesses how Jengo, Issa’s boyfriend, treats Issa, she thinks that Jengo is horrible (p. 28). When Nathalie overhears Jengo on the phone, she questions if Jengo has another girlfriend (p. 35). Initially, Issa explains that Jengo has problems at work and he is stressed (p. 39). Later, Issa asks Nathalie if she has a boyfriend and continues to share that she has suspicions of Jengo’s infidelity (p. 49) and asks Nathalie if the age difference between her and Jengo is ridiculous: “Il est plus jeune que moi. J’ai quarante-trois ans et il a seulement trente-deux ans. C’est ridicule?” / He is younger than me. I am 44 and he is only 32. Is it ridiculous? (p. 50) The teacher may want to discuss to what extent the adults should share their relationship struggles and other personal matters with teens.

Finally, when Nathalie finds the motorbike that resembles Jengo’s in the forest, she tells Issa about it and the phone conversation she had overheard earlier. Issa asks Nathalie to show her the motorbike in the forest to identify it–“Nathalie, tu veux venir avec moi? J’ai besoin de voir cette moto. Si Jengo est ici, je veux savoir pourquoi.” / Nathalie, do you want to come with me? I need to see this motorbike. If Jengo is here, I want to know why (p. 59)–and they set out to search for it in the forest in the dark of the night. The teacher may want to ask students if Issa’s motives justify involving both of them in potentially dangerous situations, especially given that Nathalie is an unrelated teenager.

Important Notes:

The original first edition of this book (2009) is written in present tense and the second edition (2023) tells the story in past tense. While the storyline and the characters of the first and the second edition of the book remain the same, several important details and word choices vary.

	1st edition, Copyright 2009	2nd edition, Copyright 2023
Illustrations	The illustrations are simple and cartoonish and they present the main characters–Nathalie and her father–as white. It is also notable that the Cameroonian characters are depicted differently in two versions of the first edition: in the version with a dark cover that features three men with a lamp, they are depicted with black skin to the point that their facial features are often indistinguishable, while in the version with a bird on the cover, they appear white.	The main characters are presented as a family of color and presents all Cameroonian characters as Black with a range of skin colors.
The names of some of the Cameroonian characters	Malika’s current husband is Roshaun and her deceased husband is named Makalo. Tavon’s wife is named Leila.	Malika’s current husband is Joseph and her deceased husband is named Jean. Tavon’s wife is named Armelie.
Descriptions of Cameroon	When Tavon speaks of Cameroon, he states, “On n’est pas riche au Cameroun, Il y a beaucoup de pauvres” / We are not rich in Cameroon, there are a lot of poor people (p. 9) and “Cameroun est un pays qui a des problèmes de criminalité”/ Cameroon is a country with a criminality problem. (p. 21).	These phrases are not present in the second edition.
Languages of Cameroon	Tavon states, “Les lycéens parlent ‘camfranglais’ mais au marché on parle ‘Pidgin English’” / The high schoolers speak camfranglais, but on the market, we speak Pidgin English (p. 9).	Instead of the phrases in the first column, the reader will see this statement “On apprécie la richesse de la vie au Cameroun” / One appreciates the richness of life in Cameroon (p. 9).
Tavon	Tavon describes his life as difficult because his parents are old and he takes care of them. “…la vie est difficile parce que sa mère et son père sont vieux. Il s’occupe beaucoup d’eux” / life is difficult because his mother and father are old and he takes care of them (p. 10). When he later turns out to be a collaborator with the thieves, he states that he’s doing it willingly (“C’est un homme mauvais et riche. Je lui donne les oiseaux et il me donne de l’argent. Beaucoup d’argent” / He is a bad and rich man. I give him birds and he gives me money. Lots of money, p. 61) but also states that he needs money for his family: “je veux de l’argent pour ma famille” / I want money for my family (p. 62) and “Je ne suis pas un homme mauvais, mais je suis un homme désespéré” / I am not a bad man, I am a desperate man (p. 63).	Tavon states that his mother needed money for medication and the man gave him the money asking for a favor in return. Tavon did not know that the favor involved stealing birds (p. 69). “J’ai volé les oiseaux mais je ne voulais pas les voler. Je n’avais pas le choix.”/ I stole the birds but I did not want to steal them. I had no choice (p. 70). Tavon also runs away from the captors together with Nathalie, holding her by hand and intending to help her.
Other	There are several instances in which Nathalie and Issa are referred to as “les filles / the girls.” Issa is 43 years old.	These statements are not present.

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