The Trumpet of the Swan

The Trumpet of the Swan

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade adventure
• Originally Published: 1970
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 750L; grades 3-7
• Structure/Length: 21 chapters; approx. 252 pages; approx. 4 hours, 20 minutes on audio
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: Louis is a trumpeter swan who is born without the ability to make a sound—a vital part of trumpeter swan communication and reproduction. Louis embarks on a journey to discover a way to communicate with other swans.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Dated language; racist and culturally insensitive language; ableist language; insensitivity regarding social norms

E. B. White, Author

• Bio: 1899-1985; author of several beloved children’s books and co-author of The Elements of Style; born in Mount Vernon, New York; youngest child of six; graduated from Cornell University; wrote for the United Press, The Seattle Times, and The New Yorker; described as a quiet man who disliked publicity; began writing for his niece, turning it into a career that produced several award-winning books; received a Newbery Honor for Charlotte’s Web and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) in 1970 for his lasting contribution to children’s literature
• Other Works: A Subtreasury of American Humor (1941); Stuart Little (1945); Charlotte’s Web (1952); The Elements of Style (with William Strunk, Jr.; 1959)
• Awards: ALA Notable Children’s Books (1970); William Allen White Children’s Book Award (1973); Sequoyah Children’s Book Award (1973) 

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Journey to Adulthood
• Social Systems
• The Nature of Friendship

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the social and environmental contexts regarding animal communication that incite Louis’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Social Systems, The Nature of Friendship, and The Journey to Adulthood.
• Plan and construct visual media to convey career options for Sam based on text details.
• Analyze and evaluate the plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding mentors, friendship, and other topics.