Click here to watch the book trailer/author video.
This author video of Christie Watson, offers the reader a closer look at what inspired her to write about twelve-year-old Blessing in Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away. and takes a more intimate look at Blessing’s coming-of-age experiences in Nigeria and what they mean to the author.
Though much of the story focuses on the pressing issues in Africa today, the narrator’s voice also resonates with the experiences of adolescent American girls. Blessing realizes that life is fragile and can change at a moment’s notice. She deals with disillusionment of her parents, growing apart from her brother, and coming into her own as an autonomous young woman.
Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away is also the story of how Blessing’s grandmother, wise and practical, soon becomes her mentor, teaching Blessing the way of the midwife in rural Nigeria. This is a witty and beautifully written story of one family’s attempt to survive a new life they could never have imagined, struggling to find a deeper sense of identity along the way.
The video with the author brings you closer to the story, and you can sense the themes of family, of hope and most of all love that seem to matter most to Christie Watson and to the characters in this wonderful first novel.