The Black Flamingo

Product Information

The person leading the activity should chose one of the sections. Everyone who wants to should take it in turns to share what they wrote or drew in that section. They could read it out or hold it up to their screen. The person leading the activity should invite people to share ideas for all of the sections. The next person should unmute themselves, say something about the book or how it made them feel that begins with the better B, then pass the soup on and mute themselves again.

I wanted to read it because of the subject matter, but I just wasn't sure if the format would work for me. Reading Paulette Jiles' revenge western Chenneville, it's easy to remember she's a poet. She plays ...

Dean Atta Press Reviews

When he joins the Drag Society, Michael begins to gain the confidence he needs to finally be the person he wants to be. These sections, particularly the final scene with his performance, were incredibly moving. Applause for days! They interrupt our joy. Our history. Our progress. They know they can’t stop us unless they kill us but they can’t kill us all, so you’re living your life and suddenly interrupted by white fear or suspicion. They fear sharing anything. Our success is a threat.” In this uplifting coming-of-age novel told in accessible verse, Atta chronicles the growth and glory of Michael Angeli, a mixed-race kid from London, as he matures from a child to a man...The book's strongest asset is Atta's poetic imagery...[his] story uplifts as it informs and entertains as it affirms." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Upon conclusion, I know that was the correct decision for me. I definitely recommend the audiobook for other readers who may be apprehensive about a novel written in verse. Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that make us who we are—and allow us to shine. Everyone should fill the other sections with the place or event they could imagine most clearly, the most important part of the story, and the character or event they related to most. The person leading the activity should give everyone 60 seconds for each section. I loved the representation and the wonderful characters that the story surrounds. Michael's family and his family of choice were both fabulous. Michael is a mixed race gay teen who’s father left when he was young. We follow Michael from age six to nineteen as he navigates his identity and the stigma surrounding his skin colour and queerness. It isn’t until university that Michael discovers drag, though when he does its as if he can truly embrace who he is without scrutiny.As a teacher, I often struggled to ‘teach’ poetry to children – especially the writing of it. What advice would you give to teachers who want to develop their teaching of poetry in the classroom? When he gets to university, he’s ready for freedom, but he still feels out of place until he finds The Drag Society. It is there he learns exactly how amazing and fierce he is, how much the only person’s opinion that matters is his own, and that when you love yourself it makes it easier to love others and be loved by them.

Flamingoes can migrate long distances, so it’s “definitely possible,” that the Cyprus sighting is actually the same bird, says Felicity Arengo, a conservationist at the American Museum of Natural History. Everyone should fill one section with writing or drawing about a character they’d like to know more about. The person leading the activity should time 60 seconds and let people know when their time is up. Buy from our bookstore and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice to buy more books. *15% of eBooks. Home >Sometimes, we need to take charge, to stand up wearing pink feathers - to show ourselves to the world in bold colour. About This Edition ISBN:

Atta’s bold verse novel calls to its readers to find their own blazing, performative inner truth’– Guardian I decided to try the audiobook because it is read by the author, Dean Atta, who happens to be a well-known poet. I figured, who better to hear the words from, in the way he wants them to be heard. Also, talk about an important piece of the YA contemporary canon. It's important to have queer tales that focus on all aspects of the teen experience, and this was a wonderful piece of the pie. It was uplifting, lighthearted, filled with positive and loving family relationships, and full of the usual bits of teen life: am I liked? am I loved? who am I? who do I want to be? do I be what my family is, do I follow their path? can I do both? do I need to choose now? Courage and fierceness abound in this lyrical coming-of-age story about a young boy finding his way.Melanism can help birds blend into their surroundings, making it a useful anti-predator defence for some species. But since adult flamingos don’t have many natural predators in the region, this bird’s plumage could be more bane than boon: Too much pigment makes feathers brittle and prone to breakage. This book is all about identity and self-discovery. Why wasn’t belonging simple for Michael? How did he find the freedom to be himself? People could think about how identities are really complex and how things like racism make it even more difficult of people to explore their identity safely. I’m not the best person to review the reflection of the drag aspect but I related to it a lot as a performer and I don’t know.... a person. With this novel, I felt the same as I did with Kacen Callender's, Felix Ever After, in that I was completely and whole-heartedly entranced by the main character's story and emotions. Dean Atta's debut poetry collection, I Am Nobody's Nigger, was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. His poems deal with themes of race, gender, identity and growing up, and have appeared on BBC One's The One Show and several times on BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service and Channel 4. Dean was named as one of the most influential LGBT people in the UK by the Independent on Sunday. He regularly performs across the UK and internationally.