Girl With the Broken Wing [Paperback]

Heather Dyer (Author), Peter Bailey (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2006

The twins are in bed when it happens. They hear a sound like a wet cabbage hitting the wall, then a clattering on the roof tiles, followed a little later by a tapping at the window. It's a girl with a broken wing - and she's come to stay. Who is she? Where has she come from? And more importantly, what does she want? The twins have no idea. Perhaps she's their guardian angel? But would an angel have filthy feet and snore?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5–On a dark and stormy night, James and Amanda discover a white-winged girl knocking on their attic skylight. Claiming to have a broken wing, she introduces herself as Hilary and quickly makes herself at home in the twins' bedroom. Amanda is certain that they have discovered an angel, while James remains unconvinced. Sure enough, it soon becomes clear that though she has wings, Hilary's no saint. She ruins family outings, trails the twins on field trips and to school, and even steals James's spotlight in the local Christmas pageant. The author of the amusing The Fish in Room 11 (Scholastic, 2004) tells another tale of children caring for a mythical creature. Unfortunately, this one never makes it clear whether or not Hilary truly is divine. Worse still, the winged girl never endears herself to the audience. She's whiny, thoughtless, and self-absorbed. The story itself flits between her numerous escapades, ending without much in the way of conclusion or resolution.–Elizabeth Bird, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. As in The Fish in Room 11 (2004), about a boy and a mermaid, Dyer tells a warm story of friendship between children and a magical friend--in this case, a young angel named Hilary. Twins James and Amanda are startled by a loud sound, "like a wet cabbage hitting a wall." The noise announces the arrival of cold, wet-winged Hilary, who drops through a window and ends up leading the twins on some farcical adventures. Hilary is eager to share in the twins' daily activities, so different from her life at home, a place she alludes to as having lots of old people and songs but never discloses. Some children may have logistical questions (don't the parents realize that Hilary is in the house?), but the flying scenes are thrilling, and kids will chortle over the gentle comedy and the likable angel who longs to live like a regular kid. Bailey's ink illustrations hit just the right notes of humor and old-fashioned whimsy. A good chapter book for newly confident readers. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: The Chicken House (October 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904442900
• ISBN-13: 978-1904442905
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,682,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars the girl with the broken wing, December 9, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Girl With The Broken Wing (Hardcover)

the girl with the broken wing is a children fiction book and was published by the chicken house and writen by heather dyer some of the chareters in this story are amanda hailey and james.

this story is about a angel named hailey who is exploring the worold but on 1 story night loses control and falls out from the sky breaking a wing .twins amanda and james find a angel on there roof they are very confused and are unsure who she is and why she is here.

this book is an exinting adventure and is sutable for childern aged 6+

i really enjoyed this book and would defenitly read it again.

5.0 out of 5 stars interview with an angel, October 11, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Girl With The Broken Wing (Hardcover)

It wasn't hard to figure out where Hilary came from -- you could tell that she was going somewhere else -- but you can never really know where she's going. But you have a sense that wherever she's going, we can't go, because you have to have wings because it's up in the sky. I liked the characters. I liked that Hilary could only read picture writing. And I liked that she took James and Amanda flying. (Anna, age 8)