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Book Cover for: No Place Like Home, James Bird

No Place Like Home

James Bird

A middle-grade novel by James Bird about homelessness and hope.

When home is a car, life is unpredictable. School, friends, and three meals a day aren't guaranteed. Not every town has a shelter where a family can sleep for a night or two, and places with parking lots don't welcome overnight stays.

Opin, his brother Emjay, and their mother are trying to get to Los Angeles, where they hope an uncle and a new life are waiting. Emjay has taken to disappearing for days, slowing down the family's progress and adding to their worry.

Then Opin finds a stray dog who needs him as much as he needs her, and his longing for a stable home intensifies, as his brother's reckless ways hit a new high. Opin makes a new friend in the shelter, but shelters don't allow dogs...

Will anything other than a real home ever be enough?

Book Details

  • Publisher: Square Fish
  • Publish Date: Aug 13rd, 2024
  • Pages: 320
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.60in - 5.10in - 0.90in - 0.50lb
  • EAN: 9781250877611
  • Recommended age: 10-14
  • Categories: Social Themes - Poverty & HomelessnessAnimals - Dogs

About the Author

Bird, James: - James Bird's debut middle-grade novel, The Brave, was a Book Riot Best Book of 2020. He is also a screenwriter and director at the independent film company, Zombot Pictures; his films include We Are Boats and Honeyglue. Originally from California, James Bird is of Ojibwe descent, and now lives in Massachusetts with his wife, the author and actor Adriana Mather, and their son.

More books by James Bird

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Book Cover for: The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls, James Bird
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Book Cover for: Google Classroom: Best Google Classroom Guide for Teachers and Students, James Bird
Book Cover for: Michael Bruce Ross And Other Killers, James Bird
Book Cover for: Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers, Tom Angleberger
Book Cover for: Dunwich: A Tale of the Splendid City: In Four Cantos, James Bird
Book Cover for: Framlingham; a Narrative of the Castle in Four Cantos, James Bird
Book Cover for: Historical Researches On the Origin and Principles of the Bauddha and Jaina Religions: Embracing the Leading Tenets of Their System, As Found Prevaili, James Bird
Book Cover for: Francis Abbott: The Recluse of Niagara and Metropolitan Sketches the Recluse of Niagara and Metropolitan Sketches, James Bird
Book Cover for: Dunwich; A Tale of the Splendid City. in Four Cantos., James Bird
Book Cover for: Francis Abbott, the Recluse of Niagara: And Metropolitan Sketches; Second Series., James Bird
Book Cover for: Cosmo, Duke of Tuscany: A Tragedy, in Five Acts..., James Bird
Book Cover for: Francis Abbott, the Recluse of Niagara: And Metropolitan Sketches;, James Bird
Book Cover for: Google Classroom: Best Google Classroom Guide for the Teacher, James Bird
Book Cover for: Google Classroom: Easiest Teacher's and Student's Guide to Master Google Classroom, James Bird

Praise for this book

A Book Riot "Best New Children's Book of August 2023"
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2023

"Author Bird crafts this deeply felt ode to familial love with authoritative prose.... Opin's palpable fears, joys, and unrelenting hope buoy this tale of resilience." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

"James Bird, who has been homeless and is of Ojibwe descent, writes with rare authority, insight, and compassion that invites deep empathy from readers. He has done a beautiful job of creating an unforgettable family, who, as Inde says, "may be broke, but we're not broken." -- Booklist, starred review


"An urban Native American boy's gripping survival story...complex and emotionally resonant." -- Kirkus Reviews