Billy and the Thrush

Billy and the Thrush is a recount by a boy who adopts a fallen baby thrush and nurtures it.  His mother is expecting a baby and having a difficult time.  Happily, Billy’s thrush learns to fly on the day Billy gets a healthy baby brother.  The style is conversational and poetic.

The text is composed of a variety of sentence types.  Illustrations support the text but not all events are illustrated.  Dashes, ellipses, and a colon are used.  The book concludes with a two-page spread that tells how to write a recount.

Some words may require clarification: company, tortoiseshell, distress, hooded eyes, swaggering, clambered, fragile, lurch.  Similes: like a tortoiseshell jewel, as solid as a fortress.  Alliteration: blustered and blew, full of flight.

This title is from the Sails Literacy series. Hook readers and ignite their curiosity - over 700 levelled texts with bright, colourful, sophisticated designs.