Little Bird Laila - by Kelly Yang (Hardcover)

About the Book

Chinese American Laila embraces the joys and struggles of translating for her immigrant parents and teaching a new language.

Book Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, Kelly Yang and Xindi Yan, is a joyful story of a Chinese American girl translating for her immigrant parents

Laila knows how clever, kind, and funny her Mama and Baba are--but sometimes they need her help translating things from English. With English classes being too expensive, Laila decides to become her parents' teacher, even though she's just learning the language too. There's lots that Laila knows (like you don't pronounce the t in ballet) but there's so much she doesn't know too. Together, they embrace the joy and struggles of learning a new language.

Review Quotes

★ "Insightful and inspiring, Little Bird Laila soars." --Booklist, starred review

"An immigrant story imbued with sweetness and hope." --Kirkus

"As the winning, bright-eyed protagonist takes the lead, Yang and Yan focus on sunny, funny moments while lightly acknowledging that 'it's not easy teaching old birds new tricks.'" --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Kelly Yang is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the picture book Yes We Will, the middle grade New From Here, the Front Desk series, and the young adult novels Parachutes and Private Label. Her books have earned multiple awards, including the 2019 APALA Award for Children's Literature, the Parents' Choice Gold Medal, and multiple best of the year lists, and her writing has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic. Kelly immigrated to the United States when she was six years old and grew up in Southern California. Today, she and her family live in Los Angeles.

Xindi Yan left behind a small city in China to realize her dream of being a published artist. She received her BFA in Illustration from New York's Pratt Institute and has since worked as an illustrator for the gaming industry and children's media in addition to illustrating many picture books, including the New York Times bestseller Busy Betty by Reese Witherspoon. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband.