{"product_id":"helens-birds-9781773060385","title":"Helen's Birds","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom Sara Cassidy, acclaimed author of \u003cem\u003eA Boy Named Queen\u003c\/em\u003e, comes a stunning wordless graphic novel about friendship, loss and hope.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor as long as Saanvi can remember, she has been friends with her elderly neighbor Helen. They play cards and garden together and, especially, care for the wild birds that visit Helen's yard. When Helen dies suddenly, a \"For Sale\" sign goes up, and movers arrive, emptying the house of its furniture and stripping the yard of its birdfeeders. The sparrows and hummingbirds disappear.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSoon a bulldozer tears down Helen's house. All winter, Saanvi walks numbly past the property as developers begin to build condos. Then one spring day, amid the dust and turmoil of construction, she finds a weathered playing card wedged between two rocks. She holds it to her chest, and finally sobs.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter a tearful night, Saanvi wakes inspired. She slathers peanut butter on pinecones to hang from tree branches, hammers together a birdhouse from scrap wood and drags a kitchen stool outside to hold a bowl of water. Finally, she retrieves a nest that has been unraveling on Helen's old property and places it in a tree in her own yard. Saanvi's yard soon fills with Helen's birds. They have a home again.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis beautifully illustrated, wordless graphic novel shows Saanvi's journey through close friendship, then hollowing loss and change, until she finally finds hope.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1\u003cbr\u003e Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCassidy, Sara:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eSara Cassidy is a journalist and editor and the author of ten novels for young readers, including \u003cem\u003eA Boy Named Queen\u003c\/em\u003e. Her books have been selected for the Junior Library Guild, and she has been a finalist for the Chocolate Lily Award, the Bolen Books Children's Book Prize, the Rocky Mountain Book Award, the Diamond Willow Award, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award, the Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award and the Silver Birch Express Award. She has also won a National Magazine Award (Gold) for a piece in \u003cem\u003eToday's Parent\u003c\/em\u003e. She lives in Victoria.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCasson, Sophie:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eSophie Casson has illustrated a number of children's books, including \u003cem\u003eThe Artist and Me\u003c\/em\u003e by Shane Peacock, a finalist for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, and \u003cem\u003eQuelle pagaille\u003c\/em\u003e! by Danielle Marcotte and Laurence-Aurélie Théroux-Marcotte, a finalist for the Governor General's Award. Her highly acclaimed illustrations are inspired by Japanese woodblock prints and World War II-era posters. Sophie's award-winning work has also appeared in many international publications, including the \u003cem\u003eGlobe and Mail\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eNature\u003c\/em\u003e, as well as in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Sophie lives in Montreal. sophiecasson.com\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Groundwood Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50475450138898,"sku":"9781773060385","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_75849108-51c2-4fda-97f5-056d1564c484.jpg?v=1730236259","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/helens-birds-9781773060385","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}