Fly Away Home - Betty Quan;Akin Duzakin

Driven from her nest, Little Bird crosses paths with other migrating animals, including humans, looking for a safe place to call home.

Reading like a modern nursery rhyme, Fly Away Home begins with a family of birds launched into exile as “a troubling of hummingbirds / brings news of beyond” and “the deceit of lapwings drives its family to roam.”

Author Betty Quan gives animals thought-provoking collective nouns (a charm of goldfinches, a flamboyance of flamingoes)—some real, some invented—while Akin Duzakin’s simple yet suggestive illustrations spark curiosity about the characters Little Bird encounters.

On the wing, Little Bird witnesses the mass migrations of other animals: monarch butterflies, caribou, sea turtles—and human, too, including one little girl with a pink backpack. After her family finds asylum, Little Bird meets the little girl on a balcony in a new city—a safe nest for both at last.

With the world witnessing an unprecedented level of migration—for greater opportunities or because of conflicts and climate change—and over 40 million international migrants under the age of 20, Fly Away Home offers families and classrooms a hopeful entry to a complex topic.

Key Text Features

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