The Simple Art of Flying

A grumpy African grey parrot who plucks his feathers. A twelve-year-old boy who longs to become a doctor and who has recently lost both his grandfather and his father. An elderly woman who loves to dance and bake pies and who writes letters to her dead husband.

Are there any three characters in fiction less likely than these to appear together in a children's story? Are there any three characters less likely to develop a relationship with each other? Are there any three characters less likely to have a happily-ever-after ending?

It took me a while to warm up to Alastair (the African grey), Fritz (the boy), and Aggie (the elderly woman), but but, as soon as I did, I fell in love with them all. Each has strong drives: Alastair wants to free himself and his sister from their dismal life in a gloomy pet store and fly away to live in a palm tree. Fritz wants to become a medical doctor and he is working at the pet store to save up enough money to buy a parrot. Aggie is deeply lonely after her husband dies and her only son moves away, and she longs for a pet that will be good company for her.

The story is told from all three points of view (Aggie, Fritz, and Alastair), and it's told through three different genres (Aggie writes letters to her dead husband, Fritz writes journal entries, and Alastair writes poetry). It's a rich story, with deeply flawed characters who (yes, even the parrot) are decidedly human. You won't find a fresher approach to a children's book this year.