Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2006
192 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
Brooklyn, 1875: Bird Mallon lives on Water Street where you can see the huge towers of the bridge to Manhattan being built. Bird wants nothing more in life than to be brave enough to be a healer, like her mother, Nory, to help her sister Annie find love, and to convince her brother, Hughie, to stop fighting for money with his street gang. Then Thomas Neary and his Pop move in upstairs. Thomas has a secret that only Bird suspects, and who turns out to be the best friend Bird could ever have.
"Grade 4-8. Though the plot is somewhat predictable and the likable characters are a bit stereotyped, Giff masterfully integrates the historical material and presents a vivid picture of the immigrant struggle in the 1870s." - School Library Journal
"A poignant immigration story of friendship, work, and the meaning of home." - Booklist
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo © Tim Keating
As a reading teacher for 20 years, the educational consultant for Dell Yearling and Young
Yearling books, an adviser and instructor to aspiring writers, and the
author of more than 60 books for children, Patricia Reilly Giff spent
her entire life surrounded by books.
After earning a B.A. degree from Marymount College, Giff took the advice
of the school's dean and decided to become a teacher. During the 20 years of her teaching career, she earned an M.A. from St. John's University, and a Professional Diploma in Reading and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hofstra University.
Patricia Reilly Giff and her husband
lived in Weston, Connecticut. They have three children and five
grandchildren. In 1990, Giff opened The
Dinosaur's Paw, a children's ...
Name Pronunciation
Patricia Reilly Giff: ry-lee (first syllable rhymes with bye). Giff has a hard g
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