Life Grows on - by James Bird (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Cliff lives with his mom in Death Valley. It's too hot and dry, until it isn't. When a monster storm blows through and almost destroys their trailer, Cliff's mother tells him to set out looking for help - and for the father that abandoned him almost 14 years ago.

Cliff doesn't have much to go on; there are some old letters with a return address in Venice Beach, California - letters he didn't know his mom had kept from him. He's curious about his dad and wants to know why he left. He sets out with the letters and a copy of his favorite book, The Wizard of Oz.

Little does he know that this adventure will involve hopping a train and meeting some less-than-friendly travelers, a skinny stray dog, and a tree that wants to stay standing. Will he find his own yellow brick road?

Not just a survival tale, this is a coming-of-age adventure sure to take root in readers' hearts.

About the Author

James Bird is the author of The Brave, The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls, No Place Like Home, and Wolf Club, winner of the Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Excellence in Children's Literature. His middle grade fiction has been praised with starred reviews and best-of-the-year listings. He is also a screenwriter and director at the independent film company, Zombot Pictures. A California native of Ojibwe descent, he now lives in Massachusetts with his wife, the author and actor Adriana Mather, and their son.