First There Was Bird

First there was Bird. Then there was Bird-Bird. And now, Third Bird. Magnolia’s daddy won the beloved cockatiel Third Bird at a carnival, just before he died in a car accident. Magnolia promised to always take good care of Third Bird . . . but then she loses him, when she accidentally allows the bird to fly from his cage at her mama’s beauty salon. Magnolia’s grief, for her father and for her lost bird, opens up a whole new world of friends as they search not only for Third Bird, but for acceptance and healing. Helping her mama to see that physical beauty is not important (even in a family that comes from “a long line of beauty queens”), Magnolia becomes the star of her small Southern town as she finds hope and light in the healing of her grief and learns that sometimes when you go looking for one thing, you find what you really need.

Coming August 4, 2026

Middle Grade Fiction.  144 pages  5.25" x 7.75".  Ages 8 to 12 / RL: Gr 3

Bisacs: JUV039030 / JUV039120 / JUV039220

Jacketed Hardcover: 979-8-9911237-16 / $16.99 (List)

ePub3 S&L multiuser edition: 979-8-9911237-30. / $29.32 (List)

ebook PDF S&L multiuser edition: 979-8-9911237-23 /$29.32 (List)

Trade Ebook and Audiobook editions available on release.

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"...young readers are likely to enjoy the quick pace and quirky personalities. A heartfelt, ambitious, and often charming story with a significant emotional punch."
-- Kirkus Read the full Review here.

"First There was Bird" by Linda Oatman High is a heartwarming story that beautifully balances the sorrows of life with joys found in community, belonging, and acceptance." 
-- The Independent Book Review. Read the full review here.

"Kate DiCamillo meets Harper Lee.  Dazzling and thoroughly readable.  This tale of hard-won belonging proves there's a place in the heart for everyone." --Marty Crisp, author of White Star: A Dog on the Titanic and Private Captain: A Story of Gettysburg

"First There Was Bird lets loose a menagerie of colorful characters! A delightful, funny, and heartwarming story of a girl's search for a bird and her discovery of friendship and forgiveness."  --A.B. Westrick, author of Brotherhood

"FIRST THERE WAS A BIRD is a coming-of-age story that tugs at the heartstrings. Author Linda Oatman High succeeds in conveying the grief, despair, and hope of a girl on the verge of teenagerhood.  Written by Linda Oatman High, FIRST THERE WAS A BIRD is a coming-of-age tale that expounds movingly on the issue of young grief with pertinent things to say about prejudice and difference."  -- Craig Jones for IndieReader  Read full review here.

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