The chapters of Whirligig alternate between the events and actions in Brent Bishop’s life and those of the people who encounter the four whirligigs he has installed. In “Weeksboro, Maine,” we meet two eighth-grade girls, Steph and Alexandra. They see the whirligig in the snow at Christmas time. They use it as a kind of wishing post, hoping for Steph to get a boyfriend. In “Miami, Florida,” an anonymous Puerto Rican street sweeper who lives in Miami relieves some personal stress by going for a long drive across the state to Tampa. There he sees the whirligig with marching band characters on it. It reminds him that people are naturally attracted to being in groups, and that the togetherness of family life is important. In “Bellevue, Washington,” we follow Tony, a fifth-grader with Korean ancestry who doesn’t like being forced to take Suzuki violin lessons. He sees the whirligig when he goes camping with his family. His mother loves the whirligig; Tony hates it and throws a rock at it. His mother takes pictures of it and frames one for inspiration back home. It depicts a woman playing the harp, then resting, as the wind moves the parts. Tony’s violin teacher explains that the same technique could help Tony, and that he could take a rest from playing the instrument. And in “San Diego, California,” 15-year old Jenny is taking care of her aging, possibly dying, grandmother. When they go for a drive around town, they stop at the whirligig. They watch it for a long time, and her grandmother says that it is a laugh lesson. Four different people or sets of people see four different whirligigs and interpret them in four different ways, and all positive. And these are just the instances that the author allows us to see.
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