The Black Canary

by Jane Louise Curry

Book Overview

Twelve-year-old biracial James has grown up in a musical family. Not only are both of his parents musicians, but his four grandparents are as well. Everyone assumes that James will pursue music, yet he would rather become a newspaper reporter...or an astronomer...or a cook...anything that will let him leave music behind and be his own self. Everything changes when, on a family visit to London, James discovers a portal that leads to London in the year...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689864787
• ISBN13: 9780689864780
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.7" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

The Black Canary

Anyone who does not enjoy this lovely adventure of a young boy struggling to keep out of the grip of his musician family, or at least find his own music, has not sat at a window and daydreamed enough in his/her life! A compelling story with historical accuracy made palatable and fascinating, from dress of the period to what everyone ate at table, The Black Canary sings. A perfect book for the holidays for anyone, child or adult. Miss Curry's books take children's literature to another level, which, in this age of bite information, gives a child a bite he can chew.

Canary sings true

Jane Curry's "The Black Canary," contrary to the view of the previous reviewer, is an engrossing read: my 13 year-old grandson went right through it (he quit "Harry Potter" V) and pronounced it "Good," which for him is the second-highest praise (first is reserved at the moment for the Artemis Fowl books). He especially liked the intriguing portal, through which James travels from contemporary London to the London of the Children of the Chapel Royal and the plots against Queen Elizabeth I, a portal which takes him to different points in both times, so that he has to arrange his final return to the present to precede the dramatic accident that placed him in the Thames in the winter of 1600. He also comes to feel responsible for helping one of his peers to save the boy's uncle from a coming purge of plotters against Queen Elizabeth, and figures out how to do this while still effecting his return "home." Curry is clearly interested in the world of the Elizabethan theater--Ben Jonson and other documented figures connected with the child actors and singers are characters--and the complicated politics of the time. Young readers may not be specifically interested in early music or English history, but they'll likely remember the ambience of this book when they do come to read about the Elizabethan age or go to a Shakespeare play or an early music concert. The main characters--James and his rival/mentor in the company, Jack--are compellingly drawn, and minor characters such as James's parents (one black, one white--hence James's sobriquet as "The Black Canary" when he is pressed to sing for Queen Elizabeth) and the singing teacher, not to mention Ben Jonson, are vivid and memorable. The details of contemporary London vs. London in 1600 give a lively contrast for readers thinking about how people lived then and now. I read quite a few young people's books because I vet them before sending them to my grandson (or he recommends books to me). We like books that are well written, with neat, surprising plots and interesting characters (other books we've liked are "Holes" and "Hoot," as well as Eion Colfer's Fowl series). Maybe not everyone in the school to which the other reviewer gave the book will "get" it, but those curious about other times or experiencing difficulty finding a grownup self out of the tangle of insecurities and sometimes resentments of early adolescence will enjoy it and learn from it. Also, I thought it was well written without being at all precious.