BIRDIE'S BILLIONS

Sixth grader Birdie Loggerman feels poor compared to classmates at Valley Lake Elementary until she finds a secret stash of cash.

After avid skateboarder Birdie accidentally gets her single mother fired from a housecleaning agency, money is so tight they face eviction. Her wealthy best friend Hailey’s mom considers Birdie a bad influence because of her social class, and devout Christian classmate Lily ostentatiously passes down clothes to her and urges her to pray for money. Birdie does pray—and soon after, with the help of an insistent cat, discovers a hidden treasure: $500,000 left inside the wall of an abandoned home. Now a believer in miracles, Birdie anonymously mails her mother $100,000. But the sudden influx of cash doesn’t automatically transform Birdie into a carefree rich kid like she imagined. The author focuses on how the newfound money forces Birdie to tell her friends and, worse, her mother a series of lies. Birdie is also paranoid that a criminal might be after her, since the money represents the ill-gotten gains of notorious local brothers. Readers will feel invested in Birdie’s journey of self-awareness, her strong relationship with her kind, truthful, and hardworking mother, and how she navigates friendships with privileged (and clueless) kids. Birdie and most of her friends are White; there is some ethnic diversity among supporting characters.

A touching exploration of class, friendship, and the mother-daughter bond.