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.

This pack contains a range of response activities complete with activity explainer videos for exploring thinking skills and developing emotional understandings and compassionate inquiry including:

• Blooms Higher Order Thinking activities
• Book Club guide for deepening text discussion
• A range of activities to explore emotional understanding, compassionate inquiry, empathy development, vocabulary and developing skills for self and co-regulation.

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.