The Bird in Me Flies

What do you do when it feels impossible to live up to everything expected of you? When the only person who understands you disappears? When you are young and long for something that seems out of reach?

Berta dreams of being an artist, but as a girl growing up in a small Swedish farming village in the 1920s, she has little hope. She finds solace in nature, and in drawing and shaping birds from clay for her mother, the only person who seems to truly understand her. When her mother succumbs to tuberculosis, Berta feels alone, in despair and even more burdened by all the work on the farm. Can she find the courage to defy her father and the social conventions of her time, and fly free?

This beautifully illustrated novel in verse, inspired by the paintings, letters and diaries of Swedish artist Berta Hansson (1910-1994), is a universal story of grief, longing and following your dreams.

Includes an afterword by journalist Alexandra Sundqvist.

Author: Sara Lundberg
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Published: 08/04/2020
Pages: 120
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.40h x 6.80w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781773062600
Audience: Ages 9-12

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 04/06/2020
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2020
Booklist 05/15/2020 pg. 56
School Library Journal 08/01/2020 pg. 92