The Girl Who Cried Bird

Like the Boy Who Cried Wolf (But Completely Different)

A short interruption to regular programming to say: it’s publication day for my new middle-grade book, The Girl Who Cried Bird.

If you've ever released a book, this is often an unusually anti-climactic day, so in the spirit of celebration (self promotion), let me tell you four things about it:

1: It’s about Alma T Best, a classic middle child—which, confusingly, people now think I am. I’m not. I’m the youngest (of three), which, as we all know, is the gold-medal position of birth order rankings. The book opens on National Middle Child Day, and Alma is thrilled… until everyone forgets. Which feels about right.

2: It’s very bird-centric. Birdwatching plays a big role. I am a moth to the flame of ‘people getting very into things that seem a bit unusual from the outside’. Birders, I see you. I love you. (I’m gently baffled by you.)

3: The ending is my favourite part. It’s loosely inspired by that story of the woman on a tour bus in Iceland who was reported missing, then accidentally joined the search party… for herself. Some people spend their whole lives trying to find themselves. She managed it in an afternoon.

4: Did I mention? Today is publication day. (Get it here? Or at your local bookshop)

And now, some of my favourite cartoons from the book:

There’ll be a launch, but it’s still being organised.

Carry on,

Katherine