Informational Resources:

Author Information:

Author Website: https://devafagan.com/

Activities & Resources:

Activities:

Labor Unions

Investigate labor unions and their impact on our history. https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/labor-union/631741

Investigate labor unions and their impact on our history. https://www.ducksters.com/history/us_1800s/labor_unions_industrial_revolution.php

Inventions

Prince Jasper is always inventing new and useful items using aethercraft. Think about the things he invented or tried to invent and then decide on something you would like to invent.

Swords

Learn the parts of the sword.

https://kids.kiddle.co/Sword

Learn to fight with a sword:

(5:54) https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=X62lZvfZC9o

(4:26) https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=ycyfKrWU0rE

Birds

Identify birds by the sounds they make:

Nightingale video (2:28): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=XdlIbNrki5o

Lark video (1:05): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=S4zL4JJQI8c

Finch video (1:30): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=G1a-KFgOBm0

Hummingbird video (2:49): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=3CcUO9MdFpg

Swan video (2:30): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=6rHY8FF5IJY

Raven video (1:01): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=DDv_PlrBg14

Falcon video (1:00): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=Xz2AkwwU9DE

MakerSpace Activities:

Make an origami sword (10:45): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=QN-nd8CG4eE

Create and decorate a cardboard sword: https://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/cardboard-swords

Lark doesn’t have money for a fancy costume, so Prince Jasper gives her a better costume. If you had unlimited money and supplies, what would your costume look like? Design your own superhero costume.

Design and color your own Crimson Knight.

Color a nightingale or other birds. https://www.hellokids.com/c_21451/coloring-pages/animal-coloring-pages/bird-coloring-pages/nightingale

http://bestcoloringpages.com/a-nightingale-bird-watching-coloring-page_1d2683.html

Discussion Questions:

Lark is going to steal from the Royal Museum to pay off her debts and get away from Miss Starvenger. Is there a good reason to steal?

What technologies do we have that would equal the ephemera-boards in Nightingale?

Miss Starvenger’s name seems to describe her. Think of words similar to her name that describe her personality or her actions? Why did you choose those words?

Lark’s mother said “We have power, Lark. Even the smallest of us. And when we put that power together we can do great things” (p.26). What does she mean?

Larks says “People did things for you and you did things for them. It was fair that way. No one did anything for free” (p.39). Is Lark right? Why or why not? Can you think of an example?

Lark was a reluctant hero. Give some reasons for and against becoming a hero.

Blythe yearns to join the Bright Brigade. What skill or job do you yearn to do? What are you doing now to achieve your goal?

Why is it important that Sophie will be able to print her own stories?

Sophie wanted to help the workers. Lark said “a part of me was proud, just to see her like this. It made no sense. Why would I feel proud because of something Sophie was doing?” (p.78). Why would she?

Lark’s mom said “If you have power, and you don’t use it to do good, you’re as much the enemy as the folks who use their power to do ill” (p.93). What did she mean? Is she right? Why?

Jasper says “Call it magic if you want, but it’s really just science with rules we don’t completely understand” (p.100). What do you think, is there magic? Why?

When Lark is late to Blythe’s party and doesn’t have a present, why doesn’t she tell the girls she is the Nightingale and keep them from being mad?

Lark can fly and freeze things. She is supposed to get a third power. What would you want your third power to be? Why?

Is the sword Lark’s friend? Why?

Sophie says “Sometimes you need to do things because they’re the right thing to do. No matter the risks” (p.134). Is she right? Why? Come up with an example to prove your answer.

Lark stays at Ms. Starvenger’s because she wants her mother’s locket back. Lark says this is her only memory of her mother so she can’t leave it behind. Is there something that is just as important to you? Is there something that you could never leave behind? Why?

What do you think really happened to Lark’s mother?

Lark’s mother said “Being brave doesn’t mean you’re not afraid…It means doing what you need to do, even if it’s scary” (p. 191). What did she mean? Can you think of an example?

Lark thought Jasper’s life must be great because he is a prince and rich, but she learns “Even a prince’s wasn’t perfect” (p. 199). Is this true even in our lives? Give some examples to support your answer.

When Sophie finds out that Lark is the Nightingale, she also learns that she is Lark’s best friend. She is more interested in being Lark’s best friend than Lark being the Nightingale. Is Sophie focusing on the right information? Why?

Sophie tells Lark “You can't give up just because people aren’t cheering for you now. That's not what being a hero is. We keep fighting, no matter what. Because we want to make the world a better place” (p. 242). Is she right? Prove your answer.

The sword lost its power and Jasper gave it back. Jasper could have been the first to take the hilt and become the Nightingale himself. Should he have taken the sword? Why?

Lark still has not discovered her third power by the end of the book. Instead of a power for herself, she asks for her friends to get powers so that they can help her defeat Gideon. Why would she choose this instead of more power for herself?

All the superheroes have bird names. What would you choose and why?

Why do you think the author chose to make all the heroes names different types of birds?

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the Reader's Theater for Nightingale.

Watch the embedded book trailer for Nightingale at the bottom of the page.

Nightingale teaser read by Deva Fagan (3:40): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=FuQCZDekNM8

Read Alikes:

Chosen One

Barnhill, Kelly Regan. The Girl Who Drank the Moon. An epic fantasy about a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her. (NoveList)

Calejo, Ryan. Charlie Hernandez & the League of Shadows. Steeped in Hispanic folklore since childhood, middle schooler Charlie Hernandez learns the stories are true when, shortly after his parents disappearance, he grows horns and feathers and finds himself at the heart of a battle to save the world. (NoveList)

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches. (NoveList)

Fantasy Fiction

Colman, Alyssa. The Gilded Girl. Rendered penniless by her father's untimely death, a girl in an alternate-world early 20th-century New York, where only the elite are permitted to wield magic, forms a pact with a servant girl to prevent their magic from being suppressed. (NoveList)

Hannigan, Kate. Cape. Soon after being recruited by the mysterious Mrs. Boudica to join a secret military intelligence operation, Josie, Mae, and Akiko discover their superhero abilities and use them to thwart a Nazi plot to steal the ENIAC computer. (NoveList)

Ott, Alexandra. Rules for Thieves. Joining the Thieves Guild when a deadly spell is cast on her, twelve-year-old orphan Alli uses her resourcefulness to survive life on the streets alongside a boy who possesses unusual talents while searching for a cure. (NoveList)

West, Jacqueline. Long Lost. Feeling lonely and out of place after her family moves to a new town, eleven-year-old Fiona Crane ventures to the local library, where she finds a gripping mystery novel about a small town, family secrets, and a tragic disappearance. (NoveList)

Worker’s Unions

Krull, Kathleen. Harvesting Hope: the Story of Cesar Chavez. A biography of Cesar Chavez, from age ten when he and his family lived happily on their Arizona ranch, to age thirty-eight when he led a peaceful protest against California migrant workers' miserable working conditions. (NoveList)

Matas, Carlo. Rosie in New York City: Gotcha! When Mama falls ill and Papa invests all the family's money in a new business, eleven-year-old Rosie Lepidus must go to work in a garment factory and soon gets involved in union activities. (NoveList)

Zenk, Molly. United to Strike: a Story of the Delano Grape Workers. Budding reporter Tala Mendoza thinks life in 1965 Delano, California, is boring. But that's before Filipino grape workers vote to strike. While the strike brings Filipino and Mexican farm workers together, it tears apart Tala and her best friend, Jasmine. Can Tala and Jasmine's relationship withstand the Delano Grape Strike? (NoveList)

Reviews:

Fagan, Deva. Nightingale. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2021.

Booklist

Nightingale.

By Deva Fagan.

Apr. 2021. 304p. Atheneum, $17.99 (9781534465787). Grades 4-6.

REVIEW. First published April 1, 2021 (Booklist).

Though a magic sword with the personality of an eager dog steals a lot of scenes, this tale of a reluctant orphan forced to play the hero offers numerous feats of derring-do as well as insight into the importance of making and having friends—not to mention a fine climactic battle with a giant robot. Cued that something nefarious is afoot by a sudden uptick in the death rate among the downtrodden workers who refine “aether dust,” the essentially radioactive stuff of magic, accomplished young thief Lark has hardly come into possession of a sword once wielded by legendary woman warrior Nightingale than she finds herself cast into a similar role. Fagan slips an unusual element into her tale: Nightingale first used the blade to save the kingdom from a metal monster known as the Crimson Knight. After investigations reveal that the robot is being reconstructed and a second deadly, polluting aether dust factory is secretly under construction, Lark nerves herself to champion the labor union her vanished mother once helped to found against an evil factory owner and his powerful secret ally. Better yet, Lark has allies of her own (besides the irrepressible sword), making any victory not only collective but placing the factory in the hands of the workers. Even readers resistant to more liberal agendas will chuckle at the sword’s antics and cheer Lark on. —John Peters

Used with the permission of Booklist https://www.booklistonline.com/

School Library Journal (April 1, 2021)

Gr 4 Up-Twelve-year-old Lark, with light skin and red hair, is an orphaned thief from the Scrag, the slums of Gallant. All she wants is to keep her head down and earn enough money for her stay at Miss Starvenger's Boarding House. That becomes especially hard to do when she accidentally becomes the Nightingale, the fabled champion of Gallant. Gallant's poorest citizens are tasked with the dangerous production of Aether, the valuable resource that powers everything. The workers deal with unsafe working conditions and a phenomenon called ghosting, where people with long-term exposure to Aether gradually cease to exist. In short, Gallant is in desperate need of a hero, and though Lark knows heroes don't live long, she will need to rise to the occasion in order to protect the people she loves and face off against the returned Crimson Knight, the being that led to her predecessor's demise. This novel features a diverse group of individuals with various skin tones, including a Deaf character. The plot touches on a number of timely issues such as labor relations, advocacy, and being one's own hero in a way that is enlightening and inspiring. Lark's journey from thief to reluctant hero to champion is a joy to witness. Readers will applaud her realizations of self-worth and recognizing that she does have what it takes. Departing from the quintessential hero story, Lark is not the solitary protagonist who has to save the day on her own, but learns to depend heavily on her friends and the people around her, which offers a valuable lesson on friendship and community. VERDICT From its unique magic system to its diverse cast of engaging characters, this adventure is a worthwhile read.-Myiesha Speight, Towson Univ., Baltimore © Copyright 2021. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal ©2021