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On a Wing and a Tear by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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On a Wing and a Tear

by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Narrator Shaun Taylor-Corbett

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Length 5 hours 10 minutes

Language English

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Bookseller recommendation

“An excellent middle grade road trip novel. Not only is it filled with adventure, but it has an added bonus of talking animals. The humans, who are Native American, have to help great grandfather Bat get to the legendary ball game. Along the way, the humans learn and reconcile loss and change that is just part of growing up. There is one complete hilarious point of view from Chewy the dog that I particularly adored.”
— Audrey • Belmont Books

Bookseller recommendation

“A grandfather and his grandchildren go on a road trip with a talking bat and a squirrel. Their journey is filled with reunions with family and friends and a little mystery, too. It is a delightful story about an Indigenous family who helps their animal friends.”
— Samantha • Raven Book Store

Summary
About the author

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 throughout Creation.

Melanie “Mel” Roberts and Ray Halfmoon may be from different Indigenous Nations, but the friends have become like siblings since the Robertses moved in with the Halfmoons. And they soon welcome a distinguished guest: Great-grandfather Bat, whose wing is injured, has taken refuge in their old oak tree.

A rematch of the legendary Great Ball Game is coming up, with Bat as the star player. Grampa Charlie Halfmoon offers to drive Bat from Chicago down to the traditional playing field outside Macon, Georgia, and Mel and Ray are determined to help out.

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 (Muscogee) tells a modern folklore story about friendship, embracing the unexpected, and all the overlapping circles that connect us throughout Creation. Perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo, Brian Young, and Elana K. Arnold!

Children's

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the bestselling, acclaimed author of books for all ages, including Rain Is Not My Indian Name, Indian Shoes, Jingle Dancer, On a Wing and a Tear, Sisters of the Neversea, the Blue Stars series, Harvest House, and Hearts Unbroken, which won the American Indian Youth Literature Award. Cynthia is also the anthologist of Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids and was named the NSK Neustadt Laureate. She is the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint at HarperCollins Children's Books, and served as the Katherine Paterson Endowed Chair on the faculty of the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Cynthia is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and lives in Denton and Austin, Texas.