I Am Phoenix

At first light the finches are flitting about the trees Flittering fluttering flit purple finches flit Fluttering flittering fly painted finches fly. In this companion volume to Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, the winner of the 1989 Newbery Medal, Paul Fleischman celebrates the sound, the sense, the essence of birds. Written to be spoken aloud by two voices, sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous, these poems perfectly capture the beauty of birds in their singing, soaring, and rejoicing.