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Table of Contents
About the Book
In this sequel to the “uplifting” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) Sparrow Being Sparrow, Sparrow rescues an injured animal but soon wonders if she’s taken on more than she can handle alone.
A blizzard is coming, and Sparrow’s parents are leaving for the hospital to welcome Sparrow’s new baby brother, but all Sparrow can think about is investigating the strange thwack she heard coming from her bedroom window. When she goes outside, she finds an injured pigeon getting buried in the snow. She has to save it!
Sparrow and her best friend, Paloma, bring the bird inside while the grown-ups are busy, determined to nurse it back to health. But soon, Sparrow realizes that helping the bird recover—especially with curious kittens around the house—will be much harder than she thought. If she asks for help, will it mean letting go of her new animal friend?
A blizzard is coming, and Sparrow’s parents are leaving for the hospital to welcome Sparrow’s new baby brother, but all Sparrow can think about is investigating the strange thwack she heard coming from her bedroom window. When she goes outside, she finds an injured pigeon getting buried in the snow. She has to save it!
Sparrow and her best friend, Paloma, bring the bird inside while the grown-ups are busy, determined to nurse it back to health. But soon, Sparrow realizes that helping the bird recover—especially with curious kittens around the house—will be much harder than she thought. If she asks for help, will it mean letting go of her new animal friend?
Excerpt
Chapter 1
1
“Sparrow!”
“Back in a sec,” Sparrow told her dad without stopping.
“Sparrow!” called her mom.
“I’ll be right back,” she said. “Promise!”
“Sparrow!” roared her mom and dad in unison. “Stop!”
Sparrow didn’t get why grown-ups could tell you to hurry up all they wanted, but if you were in a hurry, it was always No running or Stop! Which Sparrow really didn’t want to do right now.
Because she and Paloma had been up in her room, playing with the kittens, when they heard a noise. Thwack! Just once. Then silence. There was something about that thwack that was just… wrong. It was a not-supposed-to-happen noise.
Sparrow didn’t know what had made it, but she knew where it had come from. She scooped up her kitten, Gracie, and hurried over to the window. Paloma was at her side in a second, holding her own kitten, Qwerty. Together they scanned the backyard of Sparrow’s house. There was nothing out there except the bare brown branches of a tree crisscrossing a dove-gray sky. Except—
“Look!” cried Sparrow. “There!”
Down below, something lay on the frozen ground.
That was when she and Paloma, kittens in their arms, took off running. They clattered down the stairs. Set down the kittens long enough to tug on boots and jackets and their matching hats—purple fleece with cat ears. Sparrow was just about to go investigate when her parents’ “Sparrow! Sparrow! Sparrow!” stopped her.
1
“Sparrow!”
“Back in a sec,” Sparrow told her dad without stopping.
“Sparrow!” called her mom.
“I’ll be right back,” she said. “Promise!”
“Sparrow!” roared her mom and dad in unison. “Stop!”
Sparrow didn’t get why grown-ups could tell you to hurry up all they wanted, but if you were in a hurry, it was always No running or Stop! Which Sparrow really didn’t want to do right now.
Because she and Paloma had been up in her room, playing with the kittens, when they heard a noise. Thwack! Just once. Then silence. There was something about that thwack that was just… wrong. It was a not-supposed-to-happen noise.
Sparrow didn’t know what had made it, but she knew where it had come from. She scooped up her kitten, Gracie, and hurried over to the window. Paloma was at her side in a second, holding her own kitten, Qwerty. Together they scanned the backyard of Sparrow’s house. There was nothing out there except the bare brown branches of a tree crisscrossing a dove-gray sky. Except—
“Look!” cried Sparrow. “There!”
Down below, something lay on the frozen ground.
That was when she and Paloma, kittens in their arms, took off running. They clattered down the stairs. Set down the kittens long enough to tug on boots and jackets and their matching hats—purple fleece with cat ears. Sparrow was just about to go investigate when her parents’ “Sparrow! Sparrow! Sparrow!” stopped her.
About the Author
Photograph by Elizabeth Campbell
Gail Donovan was fired from her first job in an ice cream shop for making the sundaes too big. She now works in a library and writes middle grade novels, including Sparrow Being Sparrow, a Junior Library Guild Selection; Finchosaurus, a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award winner; and In Memory of Gorfman T. Frog, named to the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing list. She has also written for the Rainbow Fish & Friends picture book series based on the bestselling work of Marcus Pfister. Donovan lives on the coast of Maine, where she jumps in the ocean all year round. She has shared her home with a dozen birds, a few dogs, a rat, and a cat named Cookie. Visit her at GailDonovan.com.
About the Illustrator
Elysia Case is an illustrator from the Finger Lakes region of New York. When she’s not making things, she can be found spoiling her pets with too many treats and annoying them with too many kisses. Follow her on Instagram @Elyvescent.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (November 4, 2025)
- Length: 160 pages
- ISBN13: 9781665943086
- Grades: 2 - 5
- Ages: 7 - 10
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High Resolution Images
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Book Cover Image (jpg): Sparrow Spreads Her Wings
Trade Paperback 9781665943086
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Author Photo (jpg): Gail Donovan Photograph by Elizabeth Campbell(0.1 MB)
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