Birds on the Brain

Publication Date August 6, 2024

Groundwood Books

Illustrated by Julianna Swaney

Summary

The sequel to the award-winning Book Uncle and Me features bird lover Reeni and her quest to save her city's bird count event when the mayor tries to shut it down.

Reeni is wild about birds! So when she and her best friend, Yasmin, have to pick a survey topic for a school project, asking their neighbors what they know about birds is an obvious choice. They are shocked to learn that no one -- not one single person! -- has heard about Bird Count India and the major event it is about to launch all over the country. Thousands of birdwatchers will be out counting birds as part of a global movement. Global means world, and isn't this city part of the world? How come people don't seem to care about the threats to city birds? And why is the mayor intentionally thwarting their city's bird count event?

Reeni and Yasmin enlist help from Book Uncle, Reeni's family and even their school bus driver. They must get people interested in the bird count, get them to ask the city government to support the event. After all, what's good for the birds is good for all of us ... right?

A funny, triumphant story about learning to advocate for both the human and non-human inhabitants of your community.