Fly

by Jess McGeachin

Lucy had always been good at fixing things, and Dad needed a bit of help. It was just the two of them after all.
So when Lucy finds a bird with a broken wing, she’s sure she can fix him too. But not everything that’s broken can be fixed.

Genres: Picture Books, Birds, Childrens, Death, Grief, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

Published August 6, 2019

Reviews

[Cazlovesbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book - the illustrations alone make it worthy of the stars. However it is the moving story of a young girl trying to help both a bird and, indirectly, her own father through his grief that moved me. This is a story which will appeal to children looking for a strong female protagonist, who are interested in inventing and problem solving and for any child learning about grief and loss. It is also a wonderful and rare portrayal of a single-parent family. Highly recommended for all ages, particularly 3-8.

[Dimity Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curious yet beguiling mix of birds, determination and healing. This gentle picture book examines grief and loss from a child's point of view, peeling back the layers of emotional responsibility they may encounter following the loss of someone especially close to them, namely, a parent. Lucy's endeavour to assist a small flightless sparrow find its wings again is full of tender parallels (it's just her and dad after the loss of her mother) but ends in failure, underpinning the main theme that not everything that breaks can be fixed.

As the author of the picture book, The Fix-It Man, this is a notion I wholly embrace and encourage young readers to explore; that death is permanent. I applaud picture books that address this very real part of life.

Heart melting illustrations accompany thoughtful text with subtle side-themes of wild-life care, inventiveness and tenacity.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a touching book that deals with love, loss and understanding that not everything is in your control. There is a blend of realism, fantasy, humour and sadness. The pages at the end deal with the death of Flap on the surface, but I love the way the artwork introduces Lucy's mother into the story. A book that rewards close observation.

[Tabitha Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tender-hearted story about brokenness and the things we wish we could fix. Little Lucy is determined and strong- all gorgeous things to show children. She is also surrounded by love as she faces the reality that not all broken things can be fixed. The illustrations are just gorgeous too.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book for early primary kids. It’s beautifully illustrated and I’d definitely recommend it for all the little humans in your life :)

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations and interesting premise, unfortuantly it doesn't really deliver. My daughter LOVED the birds and the art. She enjoyed the story and sort of connected with the resolution, but didn't connect with the theme of death at all. It just sort of hints at it very lightly in phrasing and the illustrations. If you were helping a child deal with grief this book might be nice, but isn't really that powerful in how it delivers the message.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very moving story about acceptance and moving through grief. Although on one level it is the story of Lucy, a little girl who is very good at fixing things, attempting to fix a bird’s broken wing; on a deeper level it is about accepting that not all problems can be solved. The story of the bird’s injury and recovery is told through the text, but it is the beautiful subtle illustrations with the pictures of Lucy’s mum in a wheelchair that reveal that Lucy’s mother has died. Her father’s words, “Not everything that’s broken can be fixed … but you tried to help … that’s the most important part” quietly affirm that while not all things in life go to plan it is the intention that matters. A shortlisting in the World Illustration Awards has been awarded for the exquisite watercolour art illustrations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l-Gd...

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy and her dad live happily together with dad supporting and encouraging Lucy in her designing and constructing of useful tools and apparatus to help around the house. When Lucy finds a sparrow with a broken wing it is beyond fixing. However, she secretly builds a plane (very imaginatively - wait til you see how the ironing board is used) to take the bird on a final flight and although this starts well - the plane crashes but disaster is averted through the help of flock of many birds of different breeds.

The outcome for the sparrow is not clearly expressed in words and could be misinterpreted by young readers, although this in clarified in the illustrations on the following page.
The story concludes with a double page spread showing all the birds in the story, with each of them named, a biref statement on what to do if you find and injure bird.

[Tarsila Krüse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jess McGeachin first book ‘Fly’ is a lovely tale of a very empathetic and lovely girl called Lucy who lives only with her father and who, upon finding an injured bird, sets off to help it in whichever way she can.

McGeachin’s illustrations are beautiful and his visual world building takes the reader to magical imaginary places, including the drafting of a airplane blueprints! The spread of Lucy flying amongst a wide variety of birds is a favourite in terms of composition, colour palette and overall impact. It even has a bird tree at the back for those curious about bird types and recommendation of what to do if you ever find an injured bird.

A sweet and moving story about dealing with loss and grief but that also explores creativity and inventiveness, empathy and birds!

Recommended for ages 3-8

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations, but not what I expected when I picked it up. A fairly subtle picture book about grief and accepting things we cannot fix. The main character is a little girl who finds an injured bird and is determined to help him fly again. She is very good at fixing things, after all. While they do get a flight together (with the help of others - another good message), she cannot make him whole again. The loss of the bird is layered over the implied loss of her mother as well, which gives the reader a lot to talk about after this book. While it's not a storytime book, it's one I'd keep in the list to recommend to parents who have had a loss in the family and want to talk about things with their little ones.

[Roben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy is good at fixing things so when she finds a baby bird that can't fly, she thinks she might be able to fix that also. But Flap, the bird, has a broken wing and that's not something Lucy can fix. So she decides to give Flap one more chance at flying.
A whimsical story, this highlights the benefits of having an encouraging parent to support you during tough times plus Lucy's creativity and tenaciousness.
The book has a brief note at the end that explains what to do if you find an injured bird.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know about this book in its entirety. Was it actually happening, or was it her imagination? I do very much like the message they give about how sometimes you want with all your heart to fix something, but you can't. The author hit that very hard, and for that I will give it four stars.

I thought the story about all the birds was kind of dumb, but I did think the artwork of all of them was very good.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute little story with a combination of a lot of fun and touching elements: an airplane-building girl, a whimsical flock of many kinds of birds, and an interesting exploration of healing and loss. The ending felt a teeny bit abrupt once Flap was gone, but I loved the message of trying to help even when things can't be fixed.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really about grief, about how "some things can't be fixed," but it manages to be a hopeful book and not a sad one all the same. There are illustrations of all kinds of birds, and a note about what to do if you find an injured bird.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really know what to make of this because it had real elements of an injured bird and death, but completely unrealistic elements like a little girl building a plane and a flack of various birds rescuing her.

[Y.Poston]

sweet

[Jj · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm confused. Are some of these people/animals dead? Did they just leave? I think there's plenty of room for emotional exploration, but I honestly don't understand what's going on here.

[Hermione Grainger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book! I'll be looking out for more from this author :)

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely message and art.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy works hard to help Flap get back up in the sky.

[Caitlyn Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third person limited
Inferencing
Imagination, STEM, caring for others
Grief
Birds

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mom’s scarf, the photos on the wall, dad saying not everything can be fixed. Heartbreaking and beautiful too.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

very well done

[Laurian]

The ending left my kids upset.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, that gently covers loss and love.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An attractive picture book that deals with loss, and not being able to fix everything you'd like to, with a light touch.

[Nicci]

Beautiful book about twitchers.

[Cazlovesbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book!