Fly Away Home

Written by Betty Quan
Illustrated by Akin Duzakin
Published by Groundwood Books

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 humans, 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 forty million international migrants under the age of twenty, Fly Away Home offers families and classrooms a hopeful entry to a complex topic.