Experiencing loss—in the varied ways it comes to us—affects everyone differently. As adults, we have ways to verbalize how we are feeling. Many children, however, lack the vocabulary and the understanding to name the emotions they experience when they go through grief. They just know they are hurting inside. They are feeling sad, angry, lonely, or maybe even scared. These feelings manifest in different ways depending on the age of the children.

Fly High tells the story of a sister and a brother who love watching a mama bird care for her babies until the unthinkable happens—the mother bird dies. In this story, the reader is taken on a journey through various stages of emotions associated with grief.

It ends, however, with baby birds learning to fly, and the promise of hope that is found in new beginnings. With hope-filled language featured in the layered-text format, our desire is that each reader will discover it’s okay to have the feelings he or she is having and that each new day holds healing, hope, and promise.

Themes:

• Loss

• Feeling sad, angry, lonely or scared

• Grief