My Words Flew Away Like Birds

A little girl learns some words in a new language to prepare for her move to a new country. But when she, her mother and her father arrive, “all her words fly away like birds.” The girl waits, and watches, and listens, trying to figure things out. Only, it's hard. Then one day the girl meets someone who needs her help. And as she makes a new friend, she finds that the new words start to come easier --- becoming her words, at last.The story is inspired by the many newcomer families Debora Pearson has met in her work as a children's librarian in a bustling urban center.