School work and spelling are definitely not K.C.'s
favourite things, nor her strengths. Living in Richmond,
Virginia, fourteen year old Katherine C. Cannelli (aka
K.C.) had always managed to scrap by in school, especially
with the help of her best friend, Emily. But in the 2008
school year, life gets tough. Homework is harder and takes
longer to do, her friends are less accepting and money and
family issues are making things tense for K.C. at home.
If that is not enough, her mom signs her up to be a pen pal
with a girl in a Sudanese refugee camp for internally
displaced people (IPDs) to give her more writing practice.
Too much!
Separated by distance, wealth, education and life
experiences, they are an unlikely pair to become friends.
Yet, when K.C., her mom, and her brother Todd make a
spontaneous visit to Save the Girls, the non-profit
organization that had matched K.C. with 15 year old Nawra,
K.C. starts to see her role as pen pal in a whole new light
and she realizes what she needs to do.
Despite her devastating circumstances and all the work
involved in ekeing out a bare living in the camp and caring
for her mother, Nawra is glad to be alive and is inspired
by her good friend, Adeeba, and the sayings from her
grandmother. As she cares for her mother, now crippled and
mute from the trauma of the invasion of the Janjaweed
that destroyed their small farming village, she is thankful
for the money from her pen pal, but wonders why she never
receives any letters.
Sylvia Whitman, acclaimed author of several books for
children and young adults, has written an amazing and
authentic novel that any reader over the age of fourteen
will have trouble putting down! While worlds apart in
wealth and life circumstances, these is intriguing symmetry
in their lives that help the two girls to connect, despite
the total differences in their life's situations. Their
mothers are challenged by their own share of loss and
heartbreaks, yet manage to get what is needed for them.
Their fathers had loving relationships with them when they
were young and they miss the closeness they had before it
was cut by death or divorce. Most fortunate of all, both
K.C. and Nawra are lucky to have intelligent sister
friends who appreciate their gifts and strengths and guide
and challenge them to do new things.
THE MILK OF BIRD is filled with compelling characters,
realistic situations and authentically voiced dialogue and
inspiring proverbs. Whitman swiftly and succinctly pulls
us into dramatically different life circumstances by
opening a window into the lives of the girls as they tell
their stories from their own perspectives while alternating
the narratives with the letters sent. As trust is
established, Whitman gradually reveals the real fears and
concerns of the girls and covers topics, such as brutal
rape, genocide, female circumcision, AIDS, learning
disabilities and challenges faced by NGOs.
As the story of the two teenage girls slowly unfolds, I
honestly believe that THE MILK OF BIRDS is sure to turn out
to be one of the most heartfelt and inspiring books you
will read and the love and wisdom in it will be forever
etched in your heart and mind. The title comes from a
saying that "Peace truly is the milk of birds." Don't
miss out! This is a book you will both desire to keep, yet
immediately want to share with your friends! Enjoy!
Know that there are many words behind the few on this paper…
Fifteen-year-old Nawra lives in Darfur, Sudan, in a camp
for refugees displaced by the Janjaweed’s trail of murder
and destruction. Nawra cannot read or write, but when a
nonprofit organization called Save the Girls pairs her with
an American donor, Nawra dictates her thank-you letters.
Putting her experiences into words begins to free her from
her devastating past—and to brighten the path to her future.
K. C. is an American teenager from Richmond, Virginia, who
hates reading and writing—or anything that smacks of
school. But as Nawra pours grief and joy into her letters,
she inspires K. C. to see beyond her own struggles. And as
K. C. opens her heart in her responses to Nawra, she
becomes both a dedicated friend and a passionate activist
for Darfur.
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