Sparrow girl, hardcover/sara pennypacker

Ming-Li looked up and tried to imagine the sky silent, empty of birds.

It was a terrible thought.

Her countrys leader had called sparrows the enemy of the farmers--they were eating too much grain, he said.

He announced a great Sparrow War to banish them from China, but Ming-Li did not want to chase the birds away.

As the people of her village gathered with firecrackers and gongs to scatter the sparrows, Ming-Li held her ears and watched in dismay.

The birds were falling from the trees, frightened to deathMing-Li knew she had to do something--even if she couldnt stop the noise.

Quietly, she vowed to save as many sparrows as she could, one by one.