Gift: The Life and Times of Birdie Mae Hayes #1 - Softcover

Jeri Anne Agee grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, and graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor's degree in communications. An avid reader and a mother of three, Jeri Anne retired early from the financial industry and, at the age of forty-four, began writing her first children's book. Her quest to combine her own stories of growing up in the South with a character who is strong, lovable, loyal, and funny resulted in Birdie Mae Hayes. Jeri Anne currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee, with her husband, three children, and three rescue dogs.

Bryan Langdo spent his childhood drawing dragons and ninjas on whatever was around -- sketchbooks, math tests, desks. He studied under author/illustrator Robert J. Blake, and then at the Art Students’ League of NY, where he focused on life drawing and portrait painting. After that he earned a BA in English from Rutgers College. Bryan is the illustrator of over thirty books. His picture book Tornado Slim and the Magic Cowboy Hat won a 2012 Spur Award for Storytelling from Western Writers of America. In addition to his work as an illustrator and writer, Bryan works as an editor for an ESL website and app. Bryan lives in Hopewell, NJ, with his wife and two children. When not working, he likes to be in the woods.

Gr 2–4—Birdie May Hayes lives in a small town in Alabama with her parents and her little brother, Bubba. Her best friend, Sally, lives nearby, and a new boy has recently moved in who seems like a potential friend. When Birdie May starts getting premonitions about what will happen in the future, her life takes a twist. The illustrations are charming, but the text is lackluster. VERDICT An absence of conflict, a slim plot, and choppy dialogue make this one to skip for most collections.—Laura Gardner, Dartmouth Middle School, MA