Beyond the Laughing Sky

By: Michelle Cuevas, Julie Morstad

Narrated by: Joshua Swanson

In the tradition of E. B. White and Kate DiCamillo comes the magical and moving story of a bird-like boy who longs to fly.

Ten-year-old Nashville doesn’t feel like he belongs with his family, in his town, or even in this world. He was hatched from an egg his father found on the sidewalk and has grown into something not quite boy and not quite bird. Despite the support of his loving parents and his adoring sister, Junebug, Nashville wishes more than anything that he could join his fellow birds up in the sky. After all, what's the point of being part bird if you can't even touch the clouds?

With an ear for language and a gift for storytelling, Michelle Cuevas will remind fans of Stuart Little and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon that anything is possible. Even flying.

Critic reviews

"This is an impossibly lovely tale—but then, as Nashville, the soaring heart of this exquisite novel, learns, nothing is impossible when you follow your dreams. BEYOND THE LAUGHING SKY is a triumph."—Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan

"With sharp yet fanciful imagery and prose magical enough to make readers feel that they, too, can fly, Cuevas weaves a story that illustrates how we all have the power to become what we are meant to be."—Booklist

"Readers will end the book with a new sense of possible."—Kirkus

"With a variety of metaphorical language and imagery, this short read engenders the theme of acceptance and aspiration of fitting in."—School Library Journal