by Hope Lim

I AM A BIRD came together as I reflected on how two interactions I had on the same day evoked opposite emotions.

I live in San Francisco and run most mornings in Golden Gate Park. I have passed the same woman a few times and noticed how she always looks straight ahead with a stone face and carries a big duffel bag. One morning, fear struck me as I saw her, but I was not certain why. I came home from running that day, thinking about how I would write about the stranger.

Later that morning, my husband told me about how my daughter and her bird songs made people smile and wave on their way to school. They rode a tandem bike and my daughter would sit in the back and pretend to be a bird, caw-cawing all the way. His description of my daughter soaring high like a bird brought an immediate contrast to the unfounded fear that I was trying to transfer to paper. At that moment, my daughter jumped into my story as the main character.

I have to thank my editor, Kate Fletcher, for her vision and guidance and to Hyewon Yum who brought the story to life with her rich illustrations and insightful interpretation of the story. I was especially moved by how Hyewon captured a child’s fear in such a creative and authentic way.

The book releases February 2, 2021 from Candlewick, but the cover is here today!

My hope is that I AM A BIRD encourages readers to soar above our differences and bias and celebrate what we have in common.

Hope Lim is a children’s book author from South Korea and currently lives in San Francisco. Her debut book, I AM A BIRD, is to be released by Candlewick on February 2, 2021. Her debut will be followed by MY TREEI, Neal Porter Books/Holiday House in Summer 2021 and MOMMY’S HOMETOWN, Candlewick, in Fall 2022. Find more about Hope and her books at hopelim.com.