Available now!
Ages 8-12Awards & Accolades
- An ALA Schneider Family Book Award Middle Grade Honor
- A Junior Library Guild Selection
- A BookPage Best Middle Grade Book of 2022
- A 2022 Nerdy Book Club Pick
- A 2023 Texas Lone Star Reading List Selection
- An Amazon Editor’s Pick
- Winner of the Oklahoma Sequoya Book Award
Bestselling author Natalie Lloyd returns with her most personal book to date, a story about a girl who―armed with her trusty, snazzy wheelchair―refuses to let her brittle bone disease stand in the way of adventure.
Twelve-year-old homeschooled Olive is tired of being seen as “fragile” just because she has osteogenesis imperfecta (otherwise known as brittle bone disease) so she’s thrilled when she finally convinces her overprotective parents to let her attend Macklemore Elementary. Olive can’t wait to go to a traditional school and make the friends she’s always longed for, until a disastrous first day dashes her hopes of ever fitting in.
Then Olive hears whispers about a magical, wish-granting hummingbird that supposedly lives near Macklemore. It’ll be the solution to all her problems! If she can find the bird and prove herself worthy, the creature will make her most desperate, secret wish come true.
When it becomes clear that she can’t solve the mystery on her own, Olive teams up with some unlikely allies who help her learn the truth about the bird. And on the way, she just might learn that our fragile places lead us to the most wonderful magic of all . . .
Reviews
★“Olive’s sparkly personality roars to life through assured first-person narration, metaphors rooted in the natural world, and simple yet piercing free verse that distills her self revelations.” —Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
★“With exceptional style and empathy, Hummingbird exquisitely addresses weighty themes in a jubilant yet realistic way. This is a novel as rare as the magical bird at its center.” —BookPage, starred review
★“A must have for any elementary or middle grade library, this magical and heartening novel will keep readers engaged Page of 2 10 until the end. A perfect fit for fans of realistic fiction and fantasy alike.” —School Library Journal, starred review
★“There’s a lot to love here. Inspired by Lloyd’s childhood experiences with disability, Olive’s first-person narrative transports readers into her world … Her active mind, wit, and unerring sense of waht maters make this a memorable novel.”— Booklist, starred review
“…energetic first-person narration, interspersed with Olive’s thoughts in free verse, is full of bold personality. Refreshingly, her obstacles don’t come from being a wheelchair user but from navigating an inaccessible world. Her grappling with fears and bold dreams offers a rare depiction of physical disability that is allowed to be both complicated and empowering…A spirited tale of self-belief.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Natalie Lloyd achieves a masterful feat in Hummingbird … I love this book with my whole heart.” —Anne Ursu, National Book Award long-listed author of The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy
“An achingly brilliant, gorgeous book. Made me feel joyful to my soul like few books ever have.” —Jeff Zentner, Morris Award Winning Author of The Serpent King
“An exquisitely beautiful book … it’s a transcendent tale, movingly and masterfully told. I absolutely love all of Natalie Lloyd’s books, and I love this one most of all.” —Dan Gemeinhart, Author of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
“You will never forget where you were the first time you read this book.” —Colby Sharp, Educator & Author
Available now!
Ages 8-12Resources for Educators:
Hummingbird: A Conversation & Activity Booklet – Written by Natalie Lloyd for a school utilizing Hummingbird for their One Book, One School event, this resource is full of activities and conversation starters for groups reading Hummingbird together. Hopefully you can take them and make them your own or use these ideas to inspire even better ones!
Here’s a book trailer for Hummingbird from Scholastic Book Fairs:
Hummingbird: The Audiobook: Natalie narrates the audiobook of Hummingbird! You can hear a clip of her narration here:
Did you know?
You can watch Natalie do a booktalk for Hummingbird here: