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    Extraordinary Birds, by Sandy Stark-McGinnis | Book Review

    Amy AikenBy Amy Aiken3 Mins Read Ages 4-8 Ages 9-12 Best Kids Stories Books with Girl Characters Novels for Kids and Teens
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    The Children’s Book Review | May 2, 2019

    Extraordinary BirdsExtraordinary Birds

    Written by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

    Age Range: 8-12 years

    Hardcover: 224 pages

    Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books (April 30, 2019)

    ISBN: 978-1-5476-0100-4

    What to expect: Hope, Family, Trust, Healing

    December Lee Morgan is an eleven-year-old girl with a terrible scar from her past. She loves birds and dreams of the day that wings will unfold from the scar on her back, allowing her to fly away and survive on her own without any memories of her human life. Until then, she is resigned to constantly moving from one foster family to another and never having a true sense of belonging. She spends her days climbing trees and jumping out of them, alarming her foster parents, eating sunflower seeds, and obsessively reading The Complete Guide to Birds: Volume One, which was a gift from her mom, and Bird Girl, a journal of her life story. She deems it dangerous to become emotionally close to anyone, so she keeps to herself.

    Things begin to change for December when she is placed into the care of Eleanor Thomas, a bird-lover, taxidermist, and animal rehabilitation specialist who has a painful past of her own. Eleanor gives December freedom to be herself, and also gives her the opportunity to train an injured red-tailed hawk named Henrietta. As December bonds with Henrietta and Eleanor, she discovers a new sense of purpose and experiences an intense desire to stay with a foster parent for the first time ever. Just when December begins to rely on Eleanor’s promise to always be there for her, a misunderstanding threatens to unravel the trust that has developed between them. Ultimately, December learns that the path to healing is not flying away from the past, but finding people who love and accept you and will always give you a safe place to call home.

    Sandy Stark-McGinnis uses beautifully lyrical prose to make this tender story sing like the extraordinary birds that she describes throughout her unique debut novel. She addresses difficult topics like identity and abandonment with sensitivity that makes the story entirely approachable for middle-grade readers. December is an unforgettable character, and young readers will take away the same hope-filled conclusion that she does: though our scars may always be with us, they are only a part of our story.

    Available Here: 

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    About the Author

    Sandy Stark-McGinnis is a debut author and award-winning poet whose work has appeared in Quercus Review, In the Grove, and Penumbra. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Sandy lives with her husband and children in California, where she works as a fifth grade teacher.

    www.sandystarkmcginnis.com | @McGinnisSandy

    Extraordinary Birds, by Sandy Stark-McGinnis, was reviewed by Amy Aiken. Discover more books like Extraordinary Birds by following along with our reviews and articles tagged with Birds, Family, Foster Care, Hope, and Middle Grade Books.

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    *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

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    Amy Aiken

    Amy Aiken enjoyed practicing corporate law (really!) for years before she became a mom to two beautiful girls. At that point, she decided that it is much more fun to read and write for kids than for sophisticated investors. She loves reading aloud with her family and traveling, and prefers to do both simultaneously as often as possible. If she could spend the day with any author, it would be Kate DiCamillo, whose writing has magically transformed many a family road trip into a cherished memory-usually with happy tears at the end.

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