Brown Bird

[A] perfect read for pre-teens...Brown Bird covers so many things young people go through and is firmly situated in a modern, hopeful and inclusive society that young readers will recognise...a brave book about brave people in the modern world

Louise Ward, Napier Courier

Brown Bird is warm, wise and well-crafted. It’s written in a way that is accessible to a middle grade audience with lots of dialogue and humour – we loved Marama, Tilly’s dog who licks everyone and sleeps moon-shaped. It’s a pleasure to read as an adult and will offer children, particularly those who might tend towards anxiety, lots to identify with, and to enjoy.

Kirsteen Ure, Kete Books

Jane Arthur has created a character that will haunt delight transfix you... Brown Bird is a book of self discovery, a book of thorns and a book of roses. It is a book to treasure, whatever age you are.

Paula Green, Poetry Box

I really enjoyed this story of a tween in small town New Zealand, in day to day life. Having her quiet, calm, and perfectly wonderful boring plans tipped on their head is the catalyst for Rebecca to wrangle some of her anxiety, and feel brave enough to lift her gaze to her world.

Adele Broadbent, What Book Next?

Chester is like an explosion of fun. He’s chatty – he always has something to say. He and Rebecca are two very different people, but somehow they still manage to be friends. Rebecca thinks about things intensely. She often finds her brain racing at night. She thinks about all the things that have happened and the things that she might have said to people during the day and it makes it hard for her to sleep – that’s something I find myself doing sometimes too and I liked that I could relate to this book.

Libby Timmins (11 years), Kete Books

This is a lovely story of puberty, finding your own voice and realising that quiet, shy kids, like the brown birds among their more showy black bird partners, have something to offer too. Well written, this will appeal to kids going through their own self journey as they ask is there a place for me? Great book, looking at the importance of community and having friendships. I enjoyed it.

Ann Kilduff, Kapiti News

The sweetest story of a painfully shy girl finding her place in the world. Everybody needs a friend, but Rebecca, 11, just didn’t imagine her neighbour’s brash nephew, Chester, might be the one for her.

Ann Packer, NZ Listener

This debut children's novel by Jane Arthur, already established as a writer, poet, editor, reviewer and bookseller, plus a founding editor of the fabulous children's literature website, The Sapling, is a great read.

Rosemary Tisdall, Magpies

Our schools are currently facing a near-epidemic of children suffering from anxiety. Brown Bird’s main character, Rebecca, is incredibly relatable for these children, providing an empathetic perspective as she deals with anxiety, overthinking, and the pressure to fit in and not be weird. This book is a valuable resource for helping anxious children see themselves in literature and understand that they are not alone. It offers an important message – that it is okay to be yourself, even with quirks and challenges, or especially with quirks and challenges, because that is what makes you uniquely you.

Barbara Uini, Kete Books