Strange Birds

On Monday, eleven-year-old Anna is a perfectly happy child. In a few days, her parents will return from their sailing trip and give her a horse of her own! The terrible news arrives on Tuesday, sweeping over Anna like a dense fog: her parents are lost at sea. Things get worse. Cold-hearted Aunt Formaldy becomes Anna's guardian and exiles her to a tiny sewing room. Anna is numb with grief; her only place of respite is a mysterious tree right outside her window. But when the tree becomes home to a herd of miniature winged horses whose existence becomes threatened, because of traitors and villains, Anna must act. Discovering that the tree's "nutberries" can make her as tiny as the horses themselves, she risks becoming miniature and leads her beloved horses on an amazing journey that will change her life forever. With its courageous young heroine and distinctive storytelling voice, this empowering, contemporary fantasy will captivate and inspire young readers.

JUDITH HEIDE GILLILAND’s picture books include The Day of
Ahmed’s Secret, a Booklist Editors’ Choice and a School Library
Journal Best Book of the Year. This is her first novel. She lives
in Amherst, New Hampshire.