The Baldwin sisters have accidentally turned two swallows into boys and an owl into a man. The way the laws of the magical realm are laid out, if the sisters don't turn them back into birds within five days, they will stay human forever.
Eleven year old Fortuna's mother has sent her on an errand to the scary house where the Baldwin sisters live. Fortuna is one of those tough, really self-reliant girls so she knocks on the door and steps inside. The Baldwin sisters invite Fortuna in for tea and that's when she notices a skinny boy nervously watching the Baldwin sisters fat cat. He has a good reason. He's really a swallow and he's pretty worried about being eaten.
Fortuna doesn't believe in witches or magic or any of that nonsense. But the world is filled with wonderful, magical things that don't really make sense and Fortuna is about to see something with her own eyes that convinces her this boy, Martin, is actually a bird.
Will she help Martin change back? Does she really want to help him turn back?
Touches of wonder and oodles of self-reliance move this adventure into a place that touches a special place in all young readers. Turns out there really is an art to flying.
320 pages 978-1423158158 Ages 9-12
Recommended by: Barb, abookandahug.com
