Nina is the youngest of three children and often feels left out in the family and in school. She had an encounter with a bird that awakened her interest in birding. She gets the opportunity to spend the summer with her aunt, who runs a summer camp in Texas. She will be a staff member, and also get to do things that the campers do.

At camp, she meets a group of girls who call themselves the Oddballs. Each has a particular interest that sets her out as unique among her peers. Nina shares her interest in birds and the girls become her friends. One night, they go on an adventure and sneak off to a deserted cabin, only to be scared by something in the nearby marsh. Nina returns later to discover a pair of large nesting birds.

Nina uses her trail camera to document the birds. She takes photos of them on her phone and the Oddballs help her try to identify them. They turn out to be whooping cranes, a highly endangered species. The girls contact scientists who are studying the birds and find out that no one knew these birds were in Texas. They set up a nest watch, hopeful to see the baby bird hatch.

I loved the story and the curiosity about nature shown by the young characters. They learn some life lessons when the aunt finds out the secret they've been hiding. But, they also get some amazing lessons in science and get to watch the specialists care for the nest and egg. It's a great novel for middle grades and even older. The story is appealing and teaches some good science lessons, as well as life lessons. Recommended!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @RHCBEducators for this ARC. This was my first book to read by Lynne Kelly and I am adding her to my must read author. I loved this book. Lynne Kelly brought suspense, history and the passion to do something bigger than yourself. This is a must for all school libraries. My students are going to love it.

Nina has always felt like the odd one out, both at school and with her family. When she goes to the summer camp her aunt runs, Nina expects it to be exactly the same - but then she meets the Oddballs, a group of three girls from the last cabin at camp. One night, while sneaking out to see a ghost with her fellow campers, Nina discovers what appears to be two whooping cranes who built a nest behind an abandoned infirmary - which is impossible since this species of birds haven’t nested in Texas for over a hundred years.

When Nina reports the sighting to wildlife officials, more questions arise. These birds are all tagged and tracked, but they can’t identify the female bird. With the help of the Oddballs, Nina sets out to discover who the mystery bird is and along the way, maybe she’ll find her own flock.

I really enjoyed Nina’s journey in finding her group of friends who enjoyed each other's company and were supportive of each other. The reconnection of Nina and Iris was realistic and wholesome as well and their conversations felt genuine, especially when Iris was telling Nina how she felt. Lynne Kelly really has a way of writing with empathy, care, and gentleness. Even when Nina was having anxiety over her new friends and situations, she wasn’t ever written as being over the top or anything.

I haven’t read A Song for a Whale (yet) but this gave me more of a reason to get that moved up on my TBR. I wanted to read this one because of Nina’s love for birds and being an amateur bird watcher. It was fun finding out the ways Nina would discover birds and how she talked or thought about them.

This was aimed at Middle Grade readers, but I feel like quite a few audiences can enjoy it. It’s sweet and gentle. Without ruining anything, there’s stuff at stake but it’s not really a high stakes type of book. This will take you on an adventure with a young girl at summer camp watching over a pair of birds with her friends and in the end, watch Nina change the way she not only views others, but herself as well.

Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "The Secret Language of Birds" by Lynne Kelly; it's a fascinating exploration into the complex communication systems of our feathered friends. Nina (our main character) is going to her Aunt’s summer camp and she finds Whooping Cranes, which haven’t been in Texas for over 100 years. Nina is obsessed with birds and is very excited for her find. I loved seeing Nina find her group of friends without dining her light/passion for birds! Kelly's meticulous research and engaging writing style make this book both informative and accessible, even for those who aren't bird enthusiasts. Overall, this book is perfect for upper elementary and middle grade kiddos!

Something you may not know about me is how much I love middle-grade books. Not only are they often quick reads, but I find them full of hope, incredibly emotional, and with an emphasis on the value of friendship. They offer life lessons that many adults have forgotten. I also find that middle-grade books are remarkable vessels for telling tales about the human condition. I tend to read them when I need to feel hopeful.

The Secret Language of Bird is a sweet coming-of-age story about friendship and finding a place to belong, and if that isn't one of the most relatable struggles, I don't know what is. The story was cute and engaging. I loved the summer camp setting.

If I have any complaints, it was not as emotional as I prefer. However, if you love middle-grade books, especially ones with animals, I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

A fun story about a young girl who finds a rare bird while helping her aunt at camp. She is an amateur birder and is not believed.

This is a story of friends and the importance of listening to the young!

This coming of age middle grade novel by Lynne Kelly shows how important wild animals are, and how they can impact our lives in unexpected ways.

Nina is a girl struggling to fit in at school and at home in her large family. I empathized strongly with the struggle, and her dedication to look after her mysterious birds. I wish the pacing had been a bit better in the middle, but overall this is a good middle grade read about finding your place in the world.

Absolutely loved this story. I've already purchased a copy for my classroom! Perfect for those who love animals, those who love nature, or those who feel like they don't have a team.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own

The Secret Language Of Birds is a new middle grade story that follows the birding adventures of thirteen year old Nina. She is the middle child and often feels like an outsider amongst her family. They find her to be very quirky and don't understand why it seems to be so difficult for her to make friends with other children. To encourage her to develop some friendships and new life experiences, her parents send her to a summer camp that is run by her aunt. While she is there, she discovers two whooping cranes that have built a nest within the marsh of an unused part of camp. Everything that she reads tells her that there haven't been whooping cranes in Texas in over 100 years so she knows she has something very special at her finger tips.

While at the camp, Nina actually finds herself making friends with a trio of girls who have named themselves "The Oddballs". She shares the secret of the whooping cranes with them and they take turns monitoring the birds. She also tells the wildlife officials but not to any of the adults on the camp ground including her aunt. The adventures of "The Oddballs" were so much fun to read. They were so dedicated to each other and the whooping cranes. They were the perfect group of friends for Nina to join! As the book progresses you can see how they helped build her confidence while also not being afraid to call her out when she was being too much.

The Secret Language of Birds is a really fun read which I think middle grade children will enjoy. There is alot of information about the tracking of birds and their habits which I found to be interesting. The characters stay true to themselves and are not afraid to broaden their perspectives. Each of them is trying to find their own path as a teenager in the world. Thankfully they have each other to go through everything with!

When Nina was learning about fossils, in summer camp, she learned that there were some things that never fossilized. There are some things we don't know about, because nothing remains. This touched her so much, and made her so sad, that the family came up with a saying about being sad “Fossil sad”.
Years later, when her parents want her to go away for the summer, they send her to her eclectic aunt, who owns a summer camp. Her mother says she can come home early, if she must, but she finds “the oddballs” a group of girls who don’t fit in anywhere either.
And it is while she is out exploring one of the abandoned buildings at the camp, with her oddball group, that she discovers a pair of whooping cranes.
WhenI read the description of this book, I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. Why was everyone giving it five star reviews? But that is because I didn’t realize it was not just that she found the cranes, but that she felt a bonding with them, as well as with Josephine, the girl who was in the now abandoned building, and carved a whooping crane she observed 100 years ago, into the wooden wall.
I loved this book because Nina starts off odd-ball, and remains that way. There is no changing her. The growth is in learning about how to work well with others, as they keep a journal about the cranes. And her Aunt, who is also a bit of an odd ball as well, doesn’t have to change to be who she grew up to be either.
We don't all have to fit in boxes to grow. And neither does Nina. This was a really good book, and I had trouble putting it down.


This book came out in April, but I got it as an ARC, so thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this sweet follow up to Lynne Kelly’s Song for a Whale. I loved the voice and arc about the cranes. Overall, a really sweet friendship and conservation story.

Nina has always felt like she doesn't fit in with others. She is hoping that will change when she goes to summer camp, where she can really put her love and knowledge of birds to good use! She soon finds a pair of endangered birds about to lay eggs. Together with a rag-tag team of campmates they set out to find out where the birds came from and keep watch on the egg.

This is a story about a socially anxious girl who comes into her own, learning how to make friends through bird-conservation. These campers are witty and brilliant in how they go about looking into the mystery of the cranes. There is a lot to be learned from how Nina copes and learns from her anxieties, and how her friends each manage their own challenges.

There is so much to love about this book! Between the found friends, social anxieties, deaf representation and conservation storyline there are so many great topics that are much needed. I will be recommending this one to all of my friends and will definitely be rereading it. I love a book where you learn how to think from a different perspective and that is exactly what The Secret Language of Birds offers.

I absolutely loved Song for a Whale, so I was excited to read Lynne Kelly’s next book. I didn’t think the stories would be connected, but it turns out that this one is a companion novel that focuses on a side character from Song (and the main character from Song is involved in the book a little bit later as well!). This story centers on Nina, a girl who relates to the birds and the outdoors more than she does to other kids. Her parents are a little overbearing and overprotective, so when her older sister suggests she go off to the summer camp their “strange” aunt owns, Nina figures it’s worth a try. She isn’t sure how long she’ll stay – she feels a bit out of place at the camp, not quite a camper, not quite a staff member… until she discovers a pair of rare, lost whooping cranes in the marsh near the camp. Suddenly, she has purpose – and a whole group of friends who call themselves the Oddballs – to keep her there.

This book is perfect for middle grade readers because it highlights those awkward years where you’re just never sure where you fit in. Nina’s passion for birds is contagious, and I actually think it will make readers want to go out and experience nature a bit for themselves! And there’s a certain sort of instant friendship that’s born at summer camps, which is depicted perfectly here (my daughter was always a bit of a Nina, and she bonded with kids at camp in a way she sometimes struggled to at home). The story does dive into sad territory a little bit, but quickly picks itself back up and shows the hopeful and bright side of the situation, something that I very much appreciated. I was definitely not disappointed in this as a follow-up to Song, but kids don’t need to read the first book to enjoy this one!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

What a winner! I have purchased multiple copies for my library- a summer reading delight for middle school readers. The main character has a strong and authentic voice as the middle child of five who struggles to feel like she belongs. The story of the cranes is intriguing and kept me engaged throughout.Another winner from Lynne Kelly! A great book for your summer reading list.

Being an oddball isn’t always the easiest thing but when you find your flock it can make life a hoot.

Nina loves to observe the birds but has a hard time with friends and family. She decides to go to her aunts summer camp. While there she finds her flock when she discovers two whooping cranes in a place they haven’t been in over a hundred years.

Together the oddball cabin observes the cranes as they build a nest and work together to discover who they mysterious pair is.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Random House Children's in exchange for an honest review.

Our main character is thirteen year old Nina, a quirky girl who often feels like an awkward outsider amongst her family and at school. She is into birding and doesn't always know how to interact with other kids despite her best efforts. Nina goes to spend the summer at her aunt's camp and discovers two whooping cranes have built a next in the marsh near an old, unused part of the camp. Nina is stunned because everything she's read tells her that whooping cranes haven't lived or nested in that part of Texas in over 100 years.

Nina tells her new friends, a trio of girls who've nicknamed themselves the Oddballs, and the four girls report the finding to wildlife officials, but not to anyone else at camp. Throughout the rest of the book, the group of girls monitors the cranes and their nest, reporting their findings as they go. The female crane is a mystery, even to wildlife officials, because she has no tracker or tags to indicate who she is. Everything comes to a head as the girls wait for the egg to hatch and Aunt Audrey finds out what they've been hiding.

This is a quick, easy read that kids will enjoy. The Oddballs are the perfect group of friends for Nina because they don't mind calling her out when she's being too much.

Initially, I thought the parts about Iris were out of place in the story, but they made more sense once Iris had a bigger role in the story.

I wanted to read this in part because I was a big fan of Song for a Whale. I can't say I liked this book as much but I still greatly enjoyed it. In particular, Nina's struggle to make friends felt very realistic as did the way she became friends with the Oddballs. I liked the connection to Iris and how that storyline was able to resolved.

I instantly fell for oddball Nina, being an oddball myself. I love that she found her “flock” at her aunt’s summer camp, and following along as she and her friends observed the whooping cranes was a thrill. I like how author Lynne Kelly kept things real, though. The story really didn’t need “magical realism,” because Nina’s experience—both with finding the birds and finding herself—was already magical. The deaf representation (I assume this is the same character from Song for a Whale?) is authentic and I love that Nina learns from the mistakes from her past and how to be a true ally in real time. A lovely middle grade read.

4.5 stars

I've never read anything by Kelly in the past, but that will certainly change for in the future! And as a birdwatcher myself, I loved that angle!


This is a wonderful coming-of-age story with relatable characters. The cover is beautiful and helps draw the reader in to this heartwarming story of friendship and finding yourself when you feel like you're an "oddball." The summer camp angle will resonate with many readers. There's a bit of mystery involved with discovering just who and what the bird was, and I love how the author educates, as well as entertains, with this story.