A children’s book by Margaret Atwood, previously only available in Canada, is coming to the U.S. next year.
Magic Cat will publish the author’s For the Birds, illustrated by Júlia Sardà, in the winter. The imprint of Abrams, which announced the news in a press release, calls the book “a magical middle-grade adventure.”
Atwood, best known as the author of the adult novels The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, and Oryx and Crake, has also written several books for younger readers, including Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes, Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda, and A Trio of Tolerable Tales, all illustrated by Dušan Petričić.
For the Birds, originally published in Canada in 1990, tells the story of Samantha, a young girl transformed into a bird migrating from Canada to the Amazon rainforest.
“Blending adventure, imagination, and environmental insight, For the Birds is a timeless story about nature, responsibility, and the fragile connections that bind all living things from one of the world’s most celebrated authors,” Magic Cat says of the book.
“It’s estimated that North America has lost over three billion birds in the last fifty years,” Atwood said in a statement. “Graeme [Gibson, her late partner] and I already knew about the falling numbers back in the 1980s. What was killing them? What sort of obstacle course did they have to run on their journey? And what could we humans do to help? That is why I wrote For The Birds, so long ago. Its message has only become more urgent over time.”
For the Birds is scheduled for publication on March 2, 2027.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
