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.
Book Genres Biographical Fiction, Novels in Verse, Picture Books for Older Readers
Canadian Rights Yes
Dewey F
Title alpha The Bird in Me Flies
Level Arts Elementary Plus
Pages Count 120
Genre Fiction
Topics Childhood and youth. Drawing. Art and artists. Family life. Michelangelo’s <em>Creation of Adam</em>. Tuberculosis. Death of a parent. Grief and loss. Aspirations. Sweden. Berta Hansson (1910–1994).
Lexile 600L
Trim Size 8 1/4" x 6 3/4"
JLG Span Fall
Language English
Rights type Print
Publication date 2020-05-04
JLG Release Date Jul 2020
Minimum grade 2
Maximum grade 6
Reading level Elementary
Format Print
Arts Elementary Plus (Grades 2-6)
Arts Elementary Plus
Arts Elementary Plus (Grades 2-6)
For Grades 2-6 Draw! Dance! Sing! The 14 books in this category celebrate creativity and will foster a love of the arts among elementary schoolers.