1. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
The Blue Songbird
By Vern Kousky 
MA106 Good to Be Me
a time to reflect
Today I am going to tell you a story about a Blue Songbird. It comes from a book of the same name and you can see the front cover of the book here.
Who can tell me who wrote this book? (who the author is?)
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2. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
We meet a young blue songbird on a golden island, who listens to her sisters’ beautiful songs each morning.
Unable to sing like they sing, the young blue songbird worries that there seem to be no songs for her in the world.
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3. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
What do you think this image shows?
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4. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
Her wise and loving mother suggests that the blue songbird to “go and find a special song” that she alone can sing.
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5. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
The blue songbird sets out to cross land and sea in search of her own special song.
After tireless and courageous flight, she reaches a faraway land where she meets a long-necked crane and asks him whether he might know what song she should sing.
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6. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
The crane is not able to answer, but instead points her to the distant mountains perched at the horizon, home to “the wisest bird,” who might know.
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7. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
The Blue Songbird soars over the peaks and finds the wise old bird in the depths of a dark forest. But the owl hoots that does not know the answer, and the blue songbird flies off again on her quest.
Across varied landscapes and foreign lands, the young seeker inquires all she meets whether they might know where her song resides, but no one has the answer.
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8. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
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The Blue Songbird flew on and on, meeting new birds and creatures. One wintry day, the Blue Songbird met a bird who looked a little bit mean and more than a little bit hungry.
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9. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
Even so the songbird bravely chirped:
“Please don’t eat me, Mr. Scary Bird. I just wondered if you’ve ever heard of a very special thing — a song that only I can sing.”
The scary-looking stranger, who turns out to be a kindly crow, finally offers the glimmer of an answer — he doesn’t have her song, but knows where she will find it: She must fly West as far as she can.
And so she does, across the sea, past lighthouses and storm clouds, against mighty winds, until she sees the warm glow of an island “like a jewel on the horizon,” beautiful music flowing from it.
Overjoyed to have made it to her destination, the blue songbird feels a surge of new strength that carries her faster and faster toward the yellow land. But as she swoops down, she realizes that she has returned home.
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10. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
Just as disappointment is swelling in her chest, she sees her mother and is overcome with the urge to tell her of the crane, and the owl, and the crow, and all the stories of her journey.
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11. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
But as she opens her beak, what pours out is a song — a song of her very own, about what she had seen and experienced.
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12. © Mirror Assemblies - CB August 2017
MA106 Good to Be Me
How do you think the Blue Songbird is feeling now?
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13. This story is about finding your own voice.
MA106 Good to Be Me
What does this mean to you, now that you have heard this story?
This story is about finding your own voice.
What does this mean to you, now that you have heard this story? (Explore the difference between the actual voice found in this story and the message behind the story where the bird can represent anyone finding their own voice.)
A story like this is sometimes called a parable. Has anyone ever heard that word before? Where?
Discuss with the children what parables they have heard and what they have in common with this story.
What has we learned from this story?
Who thinks it tells us that we all have a different point of view?
Who thinks it tells us that it is important to think for ourselves? (and not just copy others)
Who knows what this is sometimes called? “finding your own voice”.
Who thinks it is telling us that we can appreciate others voices and show others respect for their points of view?
(Summarise the pupils’ responses and learning.)
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