Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be the caretaker of a pet bird.

A budgie. That’s a parakeet for non-bird people. One morning, I was outside walking my dog Tucker. He pulls the leash hard for squirrels and goes berserk for bunnies. Don’t even get me started on cats. But something in the bush had his complete and focused attention. He stood stock still, pointing his snout until I asked him what he was looking at. I couldn’t see anything until I crouched down. There, perfectly camouflaged within the leaves was a small green and yellow speckled bird. And a very calm one at that. Like it had been planted there just for me and Tucker.

A feeling washed over me—her name was Barbara, and she was coming home with us. Of course, I tried to find Barbara’s previous owners but as sometimes it happens, people purchase pets and then don’t want to take care of them for the long haul. I don’t know what this parakeet’s backstory is. I don’t know how long she had been outside, unattended. No one claimed her. A few offered to take the budgie off our hands. I politely declined.

Dave, our wonderful local pet store owner, loaned me a large cage and equipped us with some food for the week. YouTube videos on how to care for budgies as well as hour long parakeet sounds for our little friend have been useful. We continued with our week as if she’s been in our lives all along.

What I’ve observed about Barbara so far:

• She naps on the same schedule as the dog.
• She occasionally makes tiny squeaky noises and chirps to the wild birds outside.
• She watches me as I write.

Which brings us to this day. I had been weighing my options for what kind of middle grade fiction I should highlight in this month’s blog post. And then Barbara came into our lives and joined our flock. Birds! A blog on books about birds!

• These titles touch on a variety of topics like searching for family, illness, friendship, and hope.
• Sometimes the main characters are the birds themselves.
• Sometimes birds play a supporting role.
• Books are listed by bird type.

There are so many middle grade books about birds to choose from! I hope you like what I’ve selected. I’d love it if you leave me a comment in the box below.