Little Bird Flies

Can Bridie escape her quiet island home and allow her wild dreams to take flight?

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Nominated for the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal

Bridie lives on the remote Scottish island of Tornish, the youngest of three sisters. Although she loves her island, with its wild seas and big skies, she guiltily nurses a secret dream of flight - to America and the freedom of the New World. But her family are struggling under the spiteful oppression of the new Laird, and it seems that even some of the Laird's own household are desperate to leave. When the Laird's full cruelty becomes apparent, there's no more time for daydreams as Bridie needs to help the people she loves escape to safety.


Cover and chapter head illustrations by Jasu Hu. Map illustration by Hannah Horn.

The first in a gripping, dramatic new series from much-loved author, Karen McCombie.

"This involving, evocative tale, narrated by Bridie with a hint of period language, is a study of rich and poor, offering clearly-drawn characters."- Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times, Children's Book of the Week


"There's heart in this Scottish adventure. . . This is (Karen's) best. It has a vivid setting, emotional punch and characters to really care about." - Alex O'Connell, The Times, Children's Book of the Week


"It may all seem a far cry from the "slushy, gushy love songs" of Ally's World. And yet here, as there, McCombie displays her gift, which is to create a narrator who sounds thoroughly convincing, and to inhabit the consciousness of a child." Emily Bearn, The Telegraph


"Little Bird Flies by Karen McCombie is the evocative and beautifully written tale of Bridie (Little Bird) who dreams of a bigger life than the one she's destined for on her tiny Scottish isle of Tornish. With themes of immigration and prejudice and characters you'll root for, this will appeal to fans of Emma Carroll and Marie-Louise Jensen." - Michelle Harrison, author of A Pinch of Magic