The Milk of Birds

Brief Description: When a nonprofit organization called Save the Girls pairs a fourteen-year-old Sudanese refugee with an American teenager from Richmond, Virginia, the pen pals teach each other compassion and share a bond that bridges two continents. Review Quotes: "In alternating first-person accounts and letters, fifteen-year-old Nawra, an "internally displaced person" living in a camp in the Sudan, and K. C., a fourteen-year-old girl struggling with learning disabilities in Richmond, Virginia, find strength in their friendship and begin to work through their problems.... These two correspondents make readers long to learn more about them and will likely inspire more than one to follow the author's appended note on ways to help alleviate suffering in the Sudan."Review Quotes: "Nawra's gentle dignity and steely resilience in the face of such horror is so delicately portrayed...the plight of the refugees will be eye-opening for many readers."Review Quotes: "Teen readers will be moved by the personal connections and by the stories behind news headlines."Marc Notes: ; When a nonprofit organization called Save the Girls pairs a fourteen-year-old Sudanese refugee with an American teenager from Richmond, Virginia, the pen pals teach each other compassion and share a bond that bridges two continents.. Publisher Marketing: This timely, heartrending novel tells the moving story of a friendship between two girls: one an American teen, one a victim of the crisis in Darfur. "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. In this poetic tale of unlikely sisterhood, debut author Sylvia Whitman captures the friendship between two girls who teach each other compassion and share a remarkable bond that bridges two continents. Review Citations:

Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2013 pg. 124 (EAN 9781442446823, Hardcover)

Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 05/01/2013 pg. 441 (EAN 9781442446823, Hardcover)

Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2013 (EAN 9781442446823, Hardcover)

School Library Journal 06/01/2013 pg. 145 (EAN 9781442446823, Hardcover)

Kirkus Reviews 01/01/0001 (EAN 9781442446823, Hardcover)

Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2013 (EAN 9781442446823, Hardcover)

BookPage 05/01/2013 (EAN 9781442446823, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Whitman, Sylvia Sylvia Whitman, a writer and educator, has published a slew of articles and a handful of children's history books as well as a picture book, "Under the Ramadan Moon". A folklore and mythology major in college, she has always liked proverbs, particularly this one: "A book is a garden carried in the pocket." She lives with her husband and two kids in Arlington, Virginia. Visit her at SylviaWhitmanBooks.com.