Birds on the Brain
Written by Uma Krishnaswami
Illustrated by Julianna Swaney
Published by Groundwood Books
BOOK SYNOPSIS
The sequel to the award-winning Book Uncle and Me features bird lover Reeni and her quest to save her city’s bird count event when the mayor tries to shut it down.
Reeni is wild about birds! So when she and her best friend, Yasmin, have to pick a survey topic for a school project, asking their neighbors what they know about birds is an obvious choice. They are shocked to learn that no one — not one single person! — has heard about Bird Count India and the major event it is about to launch all over the country. Thousands of birdwatchers will be out counting birds as part of a global movement. Global means world, and isn’t this city part of the world? How come people don’t seem to care about the threats to city birds? And why is the mayor intentionally thwarting their city’s bird count event?
Reeni and Yasmin enlist help from Book Uncle, Reeni’s family and even their school bus driver. They must get people interested in the bird count, get them to ask the city government to support the event. After all, what’s good for the birds is good for all of us … right?
A funny, triumphant story about learning to advocate for both the human and non-human inhabitants of your community.
UMA KRISHNAWAMI
Uma Krishnaswami was born in India and now lives in Victoria, BC. She has written more than 25 books for young readers. Her books have been translated into 13 languages. Book Uncle and Me, the first in the Book Uncle trilogy, won the ILA Social Justice Literature Award. Her middle grade novel, Step Up to the Plate Maria Singh won the 2018 Asian Pacific American award for literature in the children’s category. Uma has been nominated twice for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial award. She is faculty emerita in the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Website: http://umakrishnaswami.com
Instagram: @umakrishnaswami
Facebook: @umakrishnaswami.author
Instagram: uma-krishnaswami
Email: umakrishnaswamiwriter@gmail.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Birds on the Brain, 2024, Groundwood (book 2 of the Book Uncle trilogy)
Look! Look! illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy, 2024, Groundwood
Threads of Peace: How Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Changed the World, Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Atheneum, 2021
Book Uncle and Me. Scholastic India, 2012; Groundwood 2016 (book 1 of the Book Uncle trilogy)
Two at the Top: A Shared Dream of Everest, illustrated by Christopher Corr, Groundwood, 2021.
Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh. Tu Books/Lee & Low, 2017
Bright Sky, Starry City, illustrated by Aimee Sicuro, Groundwood, 2015
The Girl of the Wish Garden: A Thumbelina Story, illustrated by Nasreen Khosravi, Groundwood, 2013
JULIANNA SWANEY
Julianna Swaney’s work is inspired by whimsical details of daily life and the fairy tales she loved reading as a child. She grew up homeschooled, which allowed free range for her imagination and interests in folklore, nature, and history. She graduated from the Maine College of Art and now lives in Portland, Oregon. Her illustrations are created using watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Website: https://www.juliannaswaney.com
