Carrier Pigeon by Henrietta Bollinger is a thoughtful and deeply personal narrative that explores identity, disability, friendship, and the unique bond between identical twins. Told from the perspective of a wheelchair user, the text reflects on growing up, navigating school life, and negotiating how others perceive difference — while highlighting agency, humour, and belonging.

Through reflections on twinhood, disability, and communication, the author challenges assumptions and centres lived experience. The text encourages students to think critically about inclusion, relationships, and what it means to be seen and understood on one’s own terms. It offers rich opportunities for empathy-building, personal connection, and discussion about diversity and identity.

The three lesson overviews focus on:

1. Comprehension and inferencing, supporting students to locate information, make meaning, and draw conclusions from the text;

2. The author’s use of language and structure, exploring how word choice, sentence structure, and text features shape meaning; and

3. Author’s purpose and themes, encouraging students to think critically about ideas, messages, and viewpoints.

 

Curriculum Phase: Phase 3

Year Level: Year 7

Curriculum Coverage:

English – Reading: personal narrative, author’s voice, inference, themes, identity, making connections

Health and Physical Education: relationships, inclusion, diversity, wellbeing, respect

Text Type: Non-fiction / personal narrative

Key words include: acceptance, accessibility, adolescence, agency, belonging, communication, disabilities, disability, diversity, diversity, empathy, family, friends, friendship, identical twins, identity, inclusion, independence, lived experience, memoir,  non-fiction text, personal narrative, Phase 3, physical disability, representation, relationships, school experiences, siblings, twin identity, twins, voice, wellbeing, wheelchair user, wheelchairs, whānau.