Wild Wings

The worlds of two villages in Scotland and the Gambia intersect through modern technology and the determined efforts of children to save an injured osprey. When 11-year-old Iona moves in with her elderly grandfather, who is considered a "nutter," most children ostracize her. But an unlikely friendship develops between Iona and her classmate Callum after she shares her discovery of an osprey nest on his farm. Knowing ospreys are endangered, they keep Iris's existence secret until a fishing line entangles her, forcing them to seek help. A naturalist saves Iris and tags her, allowing the children to track her flight from Scotland to Africa online. In her first novel, picture book author Lewis (The Most Precious Thing) deftly explores painful divisions within friendships and communities, which lead to broken relationships and unexpected tragedies, as well as surprising connections made across barriers of culture and distance when one person's passion inspires acts of generosity, kindness, friendship, and hope. Callum narrates most of the story, though several short chapters share Iris's perspective in this unsentimental and powerfully moving tale. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. (May)

Gr 4-6--A small, close-knit Scottish village becomes the backdrop for this dramatic story of animal rescue and the unlikely friendship of an 11-year-old boy and girl from different backgrounds, with the plot growing to involve people from two continents. Callum McGregor first encounters Iona McNair catching a fish from the swift river on his family's property with her bare hands. Curious about the girl's self-sufficiency and the "secret" she offers to share with him, he follows her to a platform of branches in a tall tree from which they can watch a male osprey building an aerie. They vow to keep the nest a secret. The female, named Iris by Iona, returns to lay her eggs, then becomes entangled in some fishing line, and the two young people must get help. A naturalist from the nearby preserve who treats the bird's injured foot and straps a satellite transmitter to her in order to follow her on her migratory journey to Africa and back. Then things begin to go wrong. Iona is suddenly gone, and when Iris's signal ceases as she journeys to her winter home, Callum must rely on a young girl in a hospital and a medical resident--both thousands of miles away--to help rescue the osprey. In the end, the village people work together to create a miracle of their own. Lewis offers sage advice on friendship and support. She shows that reaching out to others can bring life-changing results. This heartwarming and informative story, with its well-developed main characters, compares favorably with Carl Hiaasen's Hoot (Knopf, 2002) and Farley Mowat's Owls in the Family (Little, Brown, 1962) in offering an adventure that is hard to forget.--Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH