Wild Bird

Get lost in a sweeping middle-grade adventure following Rype, an abandoned girl in fourteenth-century Europe, as she walks from Norway to England looking for safety from the plague.

Her name was Rype. That wasn’t really her name. It was what the strangers called her. She didn’t remember her real name. She didn’t remember anything at all.

Rype was hiding in the hollow of a tree trunk when they found her. She was hungry, small, cold, alone. She did not speak their language, or understand their mannerisms. But she knew this: To survive, she would have to go with them.

In fourteenth-century Norway, the plague has destroyed the entire village of Skeviga. To stay alive, Rype, the only one left, must embark on a sweeping adventure across Europe with the son of an English ship captain and a band of troubadours in search of a brighter future and a new home.

Expertly crafted, beautifully written, and completely unique, Diane Zahler has created a historically rich, stunning story of survival and hope in the face of tragedy.

Praise for Wild Bird

*A Junior Library Guild Selection*

"Something special. Don’t miss it." - Karen Cushman, Newbery Medal-winning author of The Midwife's Apprentice and Newbery Honor-winning Catherine, Called Birdy

"A quick-paced treasure." - Donna Jo Napoli, author of In a Flash

"A deeply moving tribute to the power of art and memory." - Laurel Snyder, author of My Jasper June and National Book Award longlist Orphan Island