Birdie's Bargain

In a poignant and unflinching new realistic novel from the Newbery Medal-winning author of Bridge to Terabithia, a ten-year-old girl makes a deal with God for her father's safe return from the Iraq War.

Birdie has questions for God. For starters, why couldn't God roll history back to September 10, 2001, and fix things--so the next day was an ordinary sunny day and not the devastating lead-in to two wars? Daddy has already been to Iraq twice. Now he's going again, and Birdie is sure he'll die. At the very least, she won't see him again for a year, and everything will not be OK. (Why do grown-ups lie?) To save money, she, Mom, and baby Billy have moved to Gran's, where shy Birdie must attend a new school, and no one but bossy Alicia Marie Suggs welcomes her. Doesn't God remember how hard it was for Birdie to make friends at Bible Camp? Counselor Ron taught about Judgment there--and the right way to believe. Has Birdie been praying wrong? Why else would God break their bargain? Readers of all faiths and backgrounds, especially children of military families, will identify with and root for the unforgettable Birdie, given inimitable voice by a master storyteller.

Author: Katherine Paterson
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 10/19/2021
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.50w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781536215595
Audience: Ages 9-12

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2021
Publishers Weekly 09/06/2021
Booklist 10/01/2021 pg. 66
Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2021 pg. 112

About the Author
Katherine Paterson, a two-time winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award, has written more than thirty books, including Bridge to Terabithia and My Brigadista Year. A recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, she lives in Montpelier, Vermont.