The Birding Tree

Eighteen species of wild birds live in ten-year old Libby’s front yard, and for a future ornithologist like her, it’s a dream. She’d trade human friends for avian ones any day, and her thirty-two birdhouses, eleven bird feeders, stacks of field notes, and lack of friendship bracelets prove it.

But while Libby would prefer to spend the summer telling stories about the birds to her little brother, her mom has other plans. Like getting Libby to participate in singing camp. And making her attend the party of the grumpy new kid who lives across the street. But how is Libby supposed to keep the quail and their eggs safe from the neighborhood tabby cat, or defend the robin fledglings from the predatory hawk, if her mom’s going to force her to make real friends?

She feels bound to protect the bird habitat she’s built, and she believes she can if she stays in her front yard. Because all those silly stories she’s been telling her brother? They actually come true. And if she can tell the right ones, maybe she’ll secure a happy ending for everybody.

The Birding Tree is a middle grade magical realism novel about loneliness, forgiveness, and finding the courage to let others into our lives. It will appeal to fans of the quaint world in Charlotte’s Web, the whimsy in Flora and Ulysses, and the charming stories in the Burgess Bird Book for Children.

Releasing on January 19, 2027!