Birdie by J.P. Rose ~ Blog Tour

Birdie is a beautiful story of family and belonging. Set in 1952 Yorkshire, readers are challenged to face up to ignorance and prejudice. Birdie shows us that courage is more important than fitting in and home is where you find love and acceptance.

Young Birdie Bagshaw is the daughter of a Yorkshire mother and a black American GI father. Left alone, her mother made the difficult choice to give up her baby in the hopes of a better life. The stigma of the time meant she would have been faced with hatred and exclusion at every turn. Birdie ends up at Fitzwilliam’s Children’s Home in Leeds – a special place that cares for mixed race children.

When Great Aunt Mabel sends for Birdie to join her in Barrington Dale, a coal mining village in the Yorkshire Dales, she can’t believe she might actually have a real home. The trouble is, Birdie is different and different is not accepted in this traditional village. Birdie faces lonliness and heartbreak like she’s never known – until she ventures down into the mine and discovers the most beautiful pit pony. Mr Duke becomes the best friend she’s ever had – someone Birdie would do anything for.

This story combines multiple themes in one thought-provoking book: the relationship between a girl and her horse shows true love and genuine care, even in the face of rejection; the reality of the coal mines where danger and the impact of nationalisation affected entire villages; the necessity for post-war children’s homes is equally heart-breaking and inspiring as they provided a home for children who had none.

For another incredible story about Britain’s “Brown Babies”, try Fable House by Emma Norry.

Fablehouse by Emma Norry

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