From the award-winning author of Nina is used to feeling like the odd one out, both at school and in her large family. But while trying to fit in at summer camp, she discovers something even more peculiar: two majestic birds have built a nest in the marsh behind an abandoned infirmary. They appear to be whooping cranes, but that’s impossible--Nina is an amateur bird-watcher, and all her resources tell her that those rare birds haven’t nested in Texas for over a hundred years. When Nina reports the sighting to wildlife officials, more questions arise. Experts track all the endangered birds, but they can’t identify the female bird that Nina found. Who is she, and where did she come from? With the help of some fellow campers, Nina sets out to discover who the mystery bird really is. As she gets closer to the truth, will she find a flock of her own? This instant classic from award-winning author Lynne Kelly captures the coming-of-age moment of learning to spread your wings in a way you''ll never forget.

Autorentext

Lynne Kelly is the award-winning and USA TODAY bestselling author of Song for a Whale, The Secret Language of Birds, and Three Blue Hearts. She lives with her dogs Abigail and Eloise near Houston, where she works as a sign language interpreter and writes books for kids.

Klappentext

From the award-winning author of Song for a Whale comes a poignant and heartwarming tale about a girl who discovers a pair of endangered birds about to lay eggs in the marshes of her summer camp...and the secret plan she hatches to help them.

 
Nina is used to feeling like the odd one out, both at school and in her large family. But while trying to fit in at summer camp, she discovers something even more peculiar: two majestic birds have built a nest in the marsh behind an abandoned infirmary. They appear to be whooping cranes, but that’s impossible—Nina is an amateur bird-watcher, and all her resources tell her that those rare birds haven’t nested in Texas for over a hundred years.

When Nina reports the sighting to wildlife officials, more questions arise. Experts track all the endangered birds, but they can’t identify the female bird that Nina found. Who is she, and where did she come from?

With the help of some fellow campers, Nina sets out to discover who the mystery bird really is. As she gets closer to the truth, will she find a flock of her own?

This instant classic captures the coming-of-age moment of learning to spread your wings in a way you'll never forget.

Zusammenfassung
****USA TODAY BESTSELLER **• **A poignant and heartwarming coming-of-age novel that captures the moment of learning to spread your wings in a way you'll never forget—from the award-winning author of Song for a Whale.

“Perfect for readers who enjoy stories about curious kids and nature’s wonders.”—TIME for Kids

Nina is used to feeling like the odd one out, both at school and in her large family. But while trying to fit in at summer camp, she discovers something even more peculiar: two majestic birds have built a nest in the marsh behind an abandoned infirmary. They appear to be whooping cranes, but that’s impossible—Nina is an amateur bird-watcher, and all her resources tell her that those rare birds haven’t nested in Texas for over a hundred years.

When Nina reports the sighting to wildlife officials, more questions arise. Experts track all the endangered birds, but they can’t identify the female bird that Nina found. Who is she, and where did she come from?

With the help of some fellow campers, Nina sets out to discover who the mystery bird really is. As she gets closer to the truth, will she find a flock of her own?

Leseprobe
Chapter 1

If not for the bird, I’d have been in the car with my family instead of standing in a gas station parking lot. Not that I’m blaming the bird for what happened. It wasn’t his fault.

I stared down Highway 290, wondering how far my family would drive before noticing they were one kid short of a full minivan.

This wasn’t a regular gas station with a little convenience store and a rack of chips. Nothing that pathetic. Buc-ee’s needs an entire wall just for all their flavors of beef jerky. It’s a huge place with aisle after aisle of snacks, a fudge counter, a café, toys, T-shirts, and even stuff for decorating the house. My mom thought the sequined cattle skulls with flowers in the eye sockets were tacky, but we did have one of the big metal stars on our living room wall. And Buc-ee’s was the only place Mom would stop for a restroom break on a road trip. They’re famous for their restrooms. The Buc-ee’s beaver mascot shows up on billboards along the freeway, announcing things like RISK IT FOR THE BRISKET! and 75 MILES TO BUC-EE’S! YOU CAN HOLD IT! And even if I thought, “No, I absolutely cannot hold it,” I’d have to wait anyway, because we were not stopping anywhere else.

My point is, if you’re going to be abandoned someplace, you could do a lot worse than Buc-ee’s.

We were on our way home to Houston after a long weekend at a lake house in Austin. As soon as we parked at a gas pump, Mom and Dad each grabbed one of the twins, since they were overdue for diaper changes. Chloe and Aiden were almost potty-trained, but that “almost” is important when you’re trying to make it between Buc-ee’s stops.

“You kids stick together,” Mom said to the rest of us--that meant me and my sixteen-year-old sister, Sage, and my brother, Declan, who was fourteen, just a year older than me. Mom handed a credit card to Sage and said, “Go ahead and order the sandwiches. We’ll meet you back here at the car.”

Declan and I got our fountain drinks, pressing our cups under each spout to get a mixture of all the flavors. Sage usually did the same. But this time, she set her cup down and wandered over to the refrigerated cases, where some guys who looked like football players were picking out sports drinks. I followed her while sipping my drink. It tasted pretty good, even though I’d overdone it on the Fanta orange.

“Could you reach a Dr Pepper for me?” Sage asked one of the boys. She pointed to the top shelf.

“Why aren’t you getting your own drink?” I asked.

She glared at me and said, “I just want a can of Dr Pepper, okay?” Her eyes were wide, like she was trying to send me a secret message. “And I need someone to reach it for me.”

“Pretty sure I could reach that.”

She turned back to the guys and said, “My little sister,” while shaking her head. Then she tossed her hair and gave a huge smile to the guy who’d handed her the drink. “Thank you so much,” she said, really cheerful, like he’d given her a winning lottery ticket.

“You’re being weird,” I told her as Declan came up next to me.

Sage laughed, then handed me the credit card. “Here, why don’t y’all go order the sandwiches?”

“Mom said we have to stay together.”

“I’ll catch up to you,” she said. “You can handle this, right? Just order what everyone likes.”

Declan and I found an available touch screen at the café and put in the sandwich orders. BBQ brisket for him, chicken croissant for me, a grilled cheese cut into quarters for Chloe and Aiden to share, pastrami Reuben for Dad, and a turkey club for Mom. I punched in a h…