Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

Home: A Story of Belonging is a children's book written by N. D. Byma and illustrated by Charlotte Southworth. A young hatchling sits in a nest at the top of a tree, overlooking a beautiful farm. Its parents and siblings left the nest, but the young bird is far too afraid to fly. One day a gust of wind blows the bird down from the nest. Yet as hard as those little wings try, they are not strong enough and the bird falls a long way down. The landing is quite messy as it lands in wet mud! After being greeted by a pig, the two become friends, and a happy day is had after the bird has made its very first friend. The next morning, another gust of wind takes the little bird for a ride which ends in a trough of water. The bird meets a new friend in the shape of a horse, which takes the bird riding around the farm. Although excited at making another friend, the bird is still miserable because he still cannot fly, but little does he realize that he is no longer a passenger, but is flying with his newly-strong wings.

Each time I read through N. D. Byma's story of the little bird, I find myself smiling. In many ways, it reminds me of stories such as Charlotte's Web and Babe, with a small animal in the new surroundings of a farm. The animals are not familiar to the bird, but this does not stop the bird from making brand new friends and having a shoulder to lean on. The constant winds at first seem quite pesky and annoying, but those very same winds build muscles in its tiny little wings, giving it the ability to fly anywhere it wants. Stories that use animals to teach difficult things are wonderful, and I am both happy and lucky to have read Home: A Story of Belonging. I feel that many children will learn valuable lessons about the importance of trying, how to make friends, and the value of friendship itself. I recommend this book as the perfect bedtime story for children aged three and over.