Fans of Kelly's "Song for a Whale" will love this new book. Nina doesn't feel she really fits in anywhere, even with her family. That is until she develops a love for bird watching. When the opportunity to go to her aunt's summer camp is offered, Nina haltingly agrees. While trying to navigate not being a camper and not being on staff, Nina works on making friends, watching birds, and helping her aunt at the camp. When the older girls convince her to visit the haunted cabin in the woods, Nina has a mystery to solve and maybe make a new discovery along the way.

The story kept me interested in what was happening and hoping for a great ending which was delivered. I enjoyed seeing Iris from "Song for a Whale" and learning what has happened to her. This is a great novel for middle grade.

The Secret Language of Birds, by Lynne Kelly, is a lovely middle-grade novel. The beautiful cover draws the reader in and the heartwarming story about friendship keeps you interested. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

I have to say that I absolutely adored this book. It is the epitome of what middle grade fiction is to me. We have our main character Nina who feels like she just doesn't feel seen or fits in. Just an "oddball", who falls in love with birds and bird calling. She ends up going to summer camp with her aunt whom she hasn't heard the greatest things about. At this camp she finds her people and ends up on an adventure that helps her to find a bird that is one for the books. This book brings back Iris, a character from the author's previous book, and her and the main character patch things up. Nina finds her place and I loved it!!

Lynne Kelly has written another beautiful book about a girl finding her place in this world. As the story begins Nina feels like an oddball. She ends up going to an all girls summer camp that her aunt runs that is focused on nature. She feel out of place at the camp as well until she finds a group of girls that are oddballs too.

At camp, Nina stumbles on a bird that she thinks is a whooping crane, but that can’t be right because they haven’t been seen in that part of the state for years. I liked the mystery behind what the bird was and about how the oddballs helped solved it.

Ultimately, this book is a heartwarming story about finding friendship and becoming yourself with the perfect amount of nostalgic summer camp vibes.

4/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for an eARC of this book.

The Secret Language of Birds is a fantastic coming-of-age story about a 13 year old girl named Nina. Nina's story begins when she accidentally gets left behind by her large family at a Buc-Ee's of all places! All turns out okay but this event kicks off Nina's obsession with birds!

Nina doesn't quite fit in with her family--she's an "odd duck" like her Aunt Audrey who runs a nature sleep away camp. Zugunruhe is a German word that tells birds it's time to migrate. And Nina does just that when she leaves home to spend the summer at camp with Aunt Audrey.

Nina is a character I think kids will relate to. She's smart and loves birds but struggles with fitting in and making friends. At camp, Nina meets other "oddball" kids like her--yes that's what they call themselves! Nina has an experience she'll never forget! She discovers a pair of nesting whooping cranes which turns out to be a very big deal as whooping cranes are an endangered species and haven't been spotted in Nina's native Texas in a long time. This is a story about friendship and family and taking chances. My 10 year old is loving this story too!

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

There are so many wonderful things I can say about this book. It made me smile and laugh, but it also made me tear up.
I loved shy Nina, and how being at camp for the summer with her Aunt Audrey brought her out of her shell.
I loved that she made friends and they called themselves the Oddballs.
And the bird discovery and everything thing it led to, it was a really beautiful story.
I loved that emotions are talked about too and Nina knows that it's okay to cry and be sad sometimes but that there are still plenty of happy moments in the world.
I liked that we got to see Iris also, from Lynne Kelly's first book. I liked how she was able to help and I learned even more about animal calls!
I can't wait to recommend this book to do many students and families.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I loved this book!
Nina doesn’t feel like she really fits in anywhere. Not at school, nor with her large family, with whom she sometimes gets literally overlooked. Nina’s great passion is birdwatching, and her enthusiasm for it sometimes gets her in trouble with people who don’t understand when she gets excited. When Nina is offered a chance to spend the summer at her Aunt Audrey’s camp for girls, she jumps at it. Birdwatching to her heart’s content! Her experiences lead her to some wonderful surprises, and also to discoveries about herself and her place in the world…
A must-read for anyone who has ever felt like a “cuckoo chick in the wrong nest”, and wondered if they will ever really fit in, anywhere.
*Loved the shout-out to Buc-ee’s , a haven that any true Texan is familiar with!*

I can totally relate to Nina as I too was that child. Thirteen year old Nina feels like she never quite fits in. She tries too hard to make friends and always seems to say or do the wrong thing. Her only “friends” are the numerous birds she watches and learns to identify with the bird watching app on her phone. Until she goes to a summer camp run by her Aunt Audrey. At camp Nina soon discovers “the Oddballs” and finds her tribe. Following up on a “ghost” sighting at the camp’s abandoned infirmary Nina discovers a pair of nesting whooping cranes – a bird species that has not been seen in that part of Texas for over 100 years. With the help of Odetta, a wildlife specialist and her three new friends, Nina sets out to learn more about the cranes and how they ended up in the marsh on the outskirts of camp. While the mystery of the cranes takes up the bulk of the story it is at its heart a coming of age story about friendship and finding one’s place in the world. Recommended middle grade read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nina has a passion for birding. She is the middle child of a large family and often feels ignored and alone. She has trouble making friends at school, stumbling over words and intentions. But birding makes her feel special and in control. When she attends a summer camp run by her Aunt Audrey, she makes an amazing discovery: a pair of whooping cranes have nested in the marsh. Whooping cranes are extremely endangered and haven't nested in Texas for a hundred years. Along with her new camp friends, Nina tracks and researches whooping cranes, eagerly waiting to see the new hatchling.

The characters are a bit flat and Nina's friendship with Iris feels obsessive. But the story is entertaining and informative. Fans of A Song for a Whale will enjoy the connection to Iris's story. Readers who enjoy nature and animal stories will enjoy this one.

Nina is spending the summer at her aunt's camp where she plans to learn more about bird-watching. What she's not expecting is to find a whooping crane - which hasn't been seen in this area of Texas. But Nina is certain she's correctly identified the crane, and with the help of new friends she is determined to keep it safe.

This middle grade book is a sweet story of friendship and finding yourself.

Such a great book. Engaging and fast paced. Light and adventurous. I was completely hooked.

This book has so much to love. It is a story about birds, certainly. But it is also a story about self-discovery and about friendship—finding one's place in a group, no matter how much you feel like an outsider.

And what I love most is the poignant and incredibly relevant subtext. This book is a touching tribute to endangered species and conservation. It's also a reminder of the dangers of hunting for sport.

An important and compelling story. I'll be looking out for more of Lynne Kelly's books.

"Nina is used to feeling like the odd one out, both at school and in her large family. But while trying to fit in at summer camp, she discovers something even more peculiar: two majestic birds have built a nest in the marsh behind an abandoned infirmary. They appear to be whooping cranes, but that’s impossible—Nina is an amateur bird-watcher, and all her resources tell her that those rare birds haven’t nested in Texas for over a hundred years."

the cover is gorgeous

When I saw this book on @netgalley I had to read it. I LOVED Song for a Whale.

This was just as delightful. It is its own story, however if you’ve read Song for a Whale there is a fun connection. Nina is delightful. I’m still looking for these mythical summer long camps like this book describes. Nature. Wonderful friends. Finding kindred spirits.

Such an enjoyable read. My first for #middlegrademarch this year. This comes out April 9th. I recommend picking it up.

#netgalley

It's no secret that after a more intense reading experience I tend to gravitate toward something to clean my literary palate. Award-winning author Lynne Kelly's "The Secret Language of Birds" has been just such an experience, a beautifully told story that warms the heart and captivates the mind with equal vigor.

The story centers around Nina, an oddball of sorts in both her large family and at school. Attempting to sort some things out, she decides to spend part of her Summer at her aunt Audrey's summer camp to the shock and slight dismay of her loving but somewhat detached parents.

Initially intending this to be merely a brief deviation from her Summer routine, Nina finds herself drawn toward a unique group of girls where it would seem she's just a little bit less odd. One night, they follow the camp tradition of heading out to investigate an allegedly haunted infirmary and thus begins a remarkably tender story once she discovers a pair of endangered birds about to lay eggs in the marshes behind the old, abandoned infirmary. Already an amateur birdwatcher herself, Nina suspects they're whooping cranes, though that seems impossible since whooping cranes haven't been seen in these parts for years.

Our story turns into a myriad of wonderful little branches to this literary tree. "The Secret Language of Birds" is part mystery, part coming-of-age, part story about friendship and finding one's place and one's identity.

The characters here are vividly brought to life by Kelly, some before we even truly meet them. One can practically see this precious little camp with doting Audrey, curious campers, protective camp counselors, a haunted infirmary, Miss Odetta, and those wonderful and mysterious birds.

As a reader with disabilities, I even found myself completely enchanted by how intelligently and respectfully Kelly weaves a deaf character into the occasion and deals with the issue of inclusion.

There's so much beauty here that even as the closing pages were winding down I found myself wanting to read it all over again.

"The Secret Language of Birds" is one for the collection, a delightful middle-grade novel with believable characters and a story destined to become a classic. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and can't wait to read it all over again.

Nina is a young girl that feels a little misplaced. A summer spent at camp begins the process of her finding out who she is.

I’m not a huge lover of “coming-of-age” stories, but this was very lovely. I loved the descriptions of the swamp and the birds. It was educational and fun to read. I haven’t read “Song for a Whale,” so maybe I missed a little bit of the story between her and Iris, but I didn’t feel like I missed much. It was explained well. I’m just not sure why she was so obsessed with being friends with the Iris. It felt obsessive. That was my only negative. It was a good book and I did enjoy it very much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children for the ARC. This was my honest review.

At home, Nina felt that she did not belong and struggled to make friends at school. She hails from a large family, but goes by herself to her aunt's summer camp in Texas, where she explores the marshes and sees two whooping cranes. This seems impossible because the birds are not known to nest in the state. Nina and her fellow campers vow to get to the bottom of this mystery by studying the nesting birds all summer, which leads her to develop friendships with these girls. My 4th grader, who also read the book, wished that there was more adventure over the course of the girls' investigation. Overall, this was a sweet story for middle grade readers that had wonderful descriptions of nature and wildlife throughout the story!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Children's books for this advanced readers copy. I loved this book about a young girl who feels lost in her family and finds a rare bird while away at summer camp. She reports the rare whooping cranes, but wildlife specialists are skeptical as they don’t have them on record. Whooping cranes are endangered species and haven’t nested in Texas for decades. All whooping cranes have been named and tagged by the wildlife services to keep track on the species and their populations and movements. This is a very touching story of funding your place and being special. I also read this author’s first book about a deaf girl and a whale and loved that one as well. Will definitely check out more from this author.

The Secret Language of Birds is a very cute middle grade book about a girl who doesn't seem to fit in anywhere she goes. She goes to summer camp and finds a rare bird that hasn't been seen in her area of Texas in 100 years. There isn't a lot more to the plot than that. She doesn't really resolve any of her feelings of not fitting in, and it's never really explain why she feels that way in the first place, as she makes friends very easily in the book. It's a companion novel to Song for A Whale, and might make more sense if you read it first.

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC of The Secret Language of Birds. This middle grade book is a delightful look at a 13-year-old girl who feels like she doesn't belong. (It seems many teens feel they don't belong - however...) During her summer camp experience, she meets some endangered cranes and gets to know her Aunt Audrey better and makes some oddball friends. She is even able to reconnect with Iris, a character from the author's previous book, Song for a Whale. I enjoyed this book very much. I liked the characters and would love them as my neighbors, and I think you will t00. #netgalley #thesecretlanguageof birds #lynnekelly

Nina goes to Aunt Audrey’s summer camp where one night she and some of the camp girls hear and see a bird in the marsh. After research Nina finds out it’s a whooping crane. When the girls go back they see a second crane. They don’t live in this area so Nina and her camp friends call the wildlife department and find out Odetta knows this crane but not the female one. They realize there is a nest with an egg. Odetta wants to visit to check the egg out. What happens then? A wonderful coming-of-age story about new friends, connecting with an old friend, and endangered birds.