The King Of Birds

First published by The Templar Company, plc in 1997.

A young girl brings home a peacock, but he refuses to show off his colorful tail! Inspired by the life of Flannery O'Connor. In this picture book, inspired by the life of Flannery O’Connor, a young fan of fowl brings home a peacock to be the king of her collection, but he refuses to show off his colorful tail. The girl goes to great lengths to encourage the peacock to display his plumage — she throws him a party, lets him play in the fig tree, feeds him flowers and stages a parade — all to no avail. Then she finally stumbles on the perfect solution. When she introduces the queen of the birds — a peahen — to her collection, the peacock immediately displays his glorious shimmering tail. This delightful story, full of humor and heart, celebrates the legacy of a great American writer. Includes an author’s note about Flannery O’Connor. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

One of NPR’s 50 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Decade: A fifteenth-century palace mapmaker must hide his powers in the time of the Inquisition . . . Award-winning author G. Willow Wilson’s debut novel Alif the Unseen was an NPR and Washington Post Best Book of the Year and established her as a vital American Muslim literary voice. Now she delivers The Bird King, an epic journey set during the reign of the last sultan in the Iberian peninsula at the height of the Spanish Inquisition. Fatima is a concubine in the royal court of Granada, the last emirate of Muslim Spain. Her dearest friend, Hassan, the palace mapmaker and the one man who doesn’t leer at her with desire, has a secret—he can draw maps of places he’s never seen and bend the shape of reality. When representatives of the newly formed Spanish monarchy arrive to negotiate the sultan’s surrender, Fatima befriends one of the women, not realizing that she will see Hassan’s gift as sorcery and a threat to Christian Spanish rule. With their freedoms at stake, what will Fatima risk to save Hassan and escape the palace walls? As the two traverse Spain with the help of a clever jinn to find safety, The Bird King asks us to consider what love is and the price of freedom at a time when the West and the Muslim world were not yet separate. “Wilson has a deft hand with myth and with magic, and the kind of smart, honest writing mind that knits together and bridges cultures and people.” —Neil Gaiman, author of Norse Mythology “A triumph . . . one of the best fantasy writers working today.” —BookPage “A treasure-house of a novel, thrilling, tender, funny, and achingly gorgeous. I loved it.” —Lev Grossman, author of the Magicians trilogy

An action-packed debut title for middle grade readers with an appetite for folklore and mythology, who are ready to move beyond storybook fairy tales. Debut author Alexander Utkin, retells the Slavic myths of his youth in a stunning new graphic novel, illustrated in a bold new style. When a merchant nurses the King of Birds back to health after he is injured in a great war, he is offered a great reward. Together they travel far across the land to the domains of the King's three sisters to claim the merchant's prize... but will they give up that which is most precious to them?

In this retelling of a Chippewa folktale, the birds won’t stop arguing until Old Mother Owl decrees that whoever flies highest and longest will be their king. "The nondescript wren, small but exceedingly clever, capitalizes on the strength of the mighty eagle. Rich and expresssive illustrations depict the birds in their many vivid colors [in this retelling of one of the world's oldest legends]." —BL. Notable 1988 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)

When a young boy moves from his home in Italy to Wales, the only thing that cheers him up are the racing pigeons that Mr. Evans keeps in a loft behind his house.

Enter a world of magic and adventure in this stunning series based on traditional Russian folklore. Collected into a beautiful new paperback edition for the first time! Alexander Utkin's Gamayun Tales are fresh and modern adaptations of familiar Russian folktales, teamed with bold and beautiful illustrations that take inspiration from classical mid-century Disney animation. Jam-packed with stories of magical quests and talking animals, golden chests that turn into palaces and encounters with terrifying Water Spirits, there's no end to the adventure in these books! A great introduction to Slavic folklore for kids who have already read everything on Egyptian and Greek mythology.

Since my earliest days of bird watching the golden eagle has been my favourite, because of its size and nobility of appearance and, perhaps even more, because of its unrivalled powers of flight. "Lethargic" and "ignoble" are terms which have been applied to the golden eagle, but the men who used them showed that they had only superficial knowledge of this fine bird, the very spirit of the hills and high corries of the Highlands of Scotland. The eagle is a complete individualist: that is one reason why it appeals to me, and why I enjoy watching it.