ON A WING AND A TEAR by Cynthia Leitich Smith, cover by Natasha Donovan (Heartdrum, Sept. 17, 2024). Ages 8 -12.
A living legend roosting in the backyard. An unmissable game. A hair-raising mystery. A road trip full of adventure and danger. And all the overlapping circles that connect us.
Melanie “Mel” Roberts is sensitive, bookish, and Muscogee-Odawa. Ray Halfmoon is upbeat, artistic, and Cherokee-Seminole. Since the Robertses became houseguests of the Halfmoons, the two have become practically like siblings.
Behind the bungalow where they live, Great-grandfather Bat has taken refuge in an old oak tree. He’s a living legend—having won the Great Ball Game for the Animals against the Birds way, way back when. A rematch is coming up quickly, but Great-grandfather Bat’s right wing has a tear in it. How will he heal up and make the long journey in time to play?
Fortunately, Grampa Charlie Halfmoon offers to drive Bat from Chicago down to the traditional playing field outside Macon, Georgia. Mel and Ray are determined to help Bat however they can, along with their plucky neighbor Gray Squirrel. Together, they all set off on a road trip—facing adventure, danger, and a hair-raising mystery—on the way to the historic game.
With loving care and boisterous humor, acclaimed author Cynthia Leitich Smith tells a modern folklore story about friendship, embracing the unexpected, and all the overlapping circles that connect us throughout Creation.
Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books.
Ray and Grampa Halfmoon also appear in INDIAN SHOES by Cynthia Leitich Smith (HarperCollins, 2002/ Heartdrum, 2020, 2021) and “Between the Lines” by Cynthia Leitich Smith in ANCESTOR APPROVED: INTERTRIBAL STORIES FOR KIDS (Heartdrum, 2021).
Order ON A WING AND A TEAR by Cynthia Leitich Smith.
Order Links: Amazon; Barnes & Noble; Books a Million; Bookshop.org.
Depending on the title, Cynthia’s books may be found from Native bookstores like Birchbark Books and Native Arts and Red Planet Books and Comics, her local independent BookPeople in Austin, other terrific Texas bookstores like Blue Willow Bookshop and Brazos Bookstore, retail sites supporting indie bookstores like BookShop (Affiliate), IndieBound and Libro.fm (audio books), brick-and-mortar chains like Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, and online retailer Amazon.com (Author Central).
- Diverse-Owned Bookstores You Can Support Right Now by Alaina Leary from We Need Diverse Books.
- Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2024
- Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids
- American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL) Best Books of 2024
- Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Books of 2024
- Kirkus Reviews 150 Most Anticipated Books for Fall
★ “A unique and noteworthy tale that weaves together past and present with humor through stellar, multilayered writing.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ “Combining humor, suspense, and a quiet reverence for one’s ancestry, Smith examines how the power of community can affect emotional and physical healing, and the strength it takes to do both.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “Incorporating exceptional Native American representation throughout…, this book will appeal to fans of road-trip novels and character-driven stories.” —Booklist, starred review
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “Wonderfully likable characters (except for the Buttinskys, of course) that definitely include Great Grandfather Bat and Gray Squirrel and the fun, believable relationship between humans and animals create a fast-moving, humorous epic of a story.” —Youth Services Book Review, 5/5 stars
“Smith has crafted a narrative that explores intergenerational grief and other difficult subjects yet is still jampacked with joy and humor.” — The Horn Book
“History and romance dot the narrative, though this is an adventure story at its heart…Hand to fans of Kate DiCamillo or Katherine Applegate.” —School Library Journal
“This charming road trip adventure highlights the simple joys of youth, connection with family, community, nature, and friends both Animal and human. Hand this one to the children who seek grounded quests with happy endings.” —Bulletin of the Center of Children’s Books
Natasha Donovan is a Métis illustrator originally from Vancouver, Canada, with a focus on comics and children’s illustration. Her short comic work has appeared in THIS PLACE: 150 YEARS RETOLD anthology (Portage and Main, 2018), and WONDER WOMEN OF HISTORY, edited by Laurie Halse Anderson (DC, 2021). She illustrates the award-winning children’s book series THE MOTHERS OF XSAN, written by Brett Huson. She was also the illustrator of the graphic novels SURVIVING THE CITY and FROM THE ROOTS UP, written by Tasha Spillet-Sumner, and the picture book biography CLASSIFIED: THE SECRET CAREER OF MARY GOLDA ROSS, CHEROKEE AEROSPACE ENGINEER, written by Traci Sorell. She also did the art for the graphic novel adaptation of Thomas King’s story, BORDERS, which was shortlisted for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. She has a BA from the University of British Columbia, and prior to illustration she worked in academic and magazine publishing. She lives with her American partner in Bellingham, Washington.
ALAYMA Predictions by Betsy Bird at A Fuse #8 Production. PEEK: “…it is great. Second, that it really shouldn’t work as well as it does. I mean, talking animals and realistic fiction? They should not gel. Road trips with loquacious furry creatures should, by definition, be impossible to write well, yet my librarians were just goofy for this book this year.”
2024 Native American Heritage Month: Q & As with Creators for Young Readers by Iyana Jones from Publishers Weekly. PEEK: “Having authored both realistic and fantastical children’s fiction, it felt glorious to toss off mainstream expectations and fully embrace the wonder within an intertribal sensibility.”
Fall 2024: A Rich Harvest of Children’s Books by Mahnaz Dar from Kirkus Reviews. PEEK: “ON A WING AND A TEAR (Heartdrum, Sept. 17) offers a modern take on Muscogee folklore as a group of friends—both human and beast—head to the Great Ball Game for a showdown between the Birds and Animals…themes such as environmentalism and explores Native history; an especially noteworthy subplot sees a young Indigenous girl learning about the Trail of Tears. The result is a layered tale that’s by turns funny, poignant, and inspiring.”
Back to School 2024: New Year, New Books: Three educators share their top three choices to kick off the academic year by Patricia J. Murphy from Publishers Weekly. PEEK: “ON A WING AND A TEAR…spotlights Indigenous voices and experiences, and has a lot of cross-curricular and inter-generational ties, and positive family interactions.”
ON A WING AND A TEAR: Author Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith from HarperStacks. PEEK: “Cynthia and her editor, Rosemary Brosnan, talk about the novel and the imprint they co-founded, Heartdrum.”
Q&A: Cynthia Leitich Smith, Author of ON A WING AND A TEAR by Elise Dumpleton from Nerd Daily. PEEK: “I adored writing Gray Squirrel. She’s arguably a comic-relief character and a tag-along on the adventure, but she’s also skilled and resilient and all heart. I love her.”
17 new books to start fall off right b
Take Five: New Middle Grade Books in September by Amanda MacGregor from Teen Library Toolbox at School Library Journal.
September 2024 | 9780062870001; 0062870009 | Heartdrum | Hardcover