Be Light Like a Bird

After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Wren finds her life thrown into upheaval. And when her mother decides to pack up the car and forces Wren to leave the only home she’s ever known, the family grows even more fractured. As she and her mother struggle to build a new life, Wren must confront issues with the environment, peer pressure, bullying, and most of all, the difficulty of forgiving those who don’t deserve it. A quirky, emotional middle grade novel set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, ‘Be Light Like a Bird’ features well-drawn, unconventional characters and explores what it means to be a family and the secrets and lies that can tear one apart. AGES: 9-12 AUTHOR: Monika Schroder writes novels for middle-grade readers. Her books include ‘My Brother’s Shadow’, which was nominated for the 2014 New York State Reading Association’s Charlotte Award; ‘Saraswati’s Way’, a Story of an Indian Street Child, which Bank Street College named one of the best books of 2011; and ‘The Dog in the Wood’, which earned a starred review from Kirkus and was chosen by Voya as Top shelf fiction for middle school readers. Monika grew up in Germany but has lived and worked in Egypt, Oman, Chile, and India. She brought an Indian Street dog, whom she calls Frank, from New Delhi to her current home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. When Frank isn’t demanding her attention, Monika invents vegetarian dishes, bakes cheesecakes, and tends her garden. SELLING POINTS:

Addresses big issues including peer pressure, bullying, and preserving the environment

Explores themes of forgiveness

Well-drawn, unconventional characters are relatable