Cinnamon Birds

Middle Grade Fiction Ages 8-12

It's summer on Seskip Island. While staying at her aunt and uncle's cottage, Selby Watts escapes her hometown and her worries about entering sixth grade at the large middle school. One blustery morning on the lake, she stumbles upon a seemingly abandoned camp and hears the swirling, spiraling song of a mysterious bird...

Selby's friendship is hard-won by Cole, an island neighbor. They don't seem to have much in common. He has his own struggles. His parents are separated and he feels invisible around his father, who believes the "abandoned" camp with its dense woods (actually owned by Verna and Paige Thompson) should be cleared away for development. During an unexpected sail however, Cole and Selby open up to each other. Friendship grows as Selby tries to protect the endangered veery birds on the island and a stray dog begins to mend the heart of Cole's family.

A violent storm destroys the Thompson's camp and the site of the veery nest, but all is not lost and unlikely heroes are revealed. So it is that Selby's "cinnamon birds" lead to unlikely friendships and events, changing how she sees the world, herself and others.