When You Need Wings

“Delightful, energetic pencil-and-watercolor illustrations. . . . This sweet book offers a comforting and reassuring idea to help children through a tough time—or any time.” - Kirkus Reviews

"Judge’s visual jewel is an exquisite close-up of the reassured girl’s face, in which she confidently locks eyes with the reader. A tender tale about coping with first-day jitters.” - Publishers Weekly

“Evoking Sendak's wild rumpus. . . . Every appealing full-bleed double-page spread, done in pencil and watercolor, offers lifelike and realistic details of welcoming children at play.” - Booklist

“The spare, poetic text pairs with delicate but lush watercolors to create a reassuring tale that acknowledges fear and anxiety but encourages strength and confidence. . . . The message here isn’t necessarily limited to kiddos dreading the first day of school, so the book might be handy for any youngster heading into an unfamiliar situation.” -- BCCB

Acclaimed author-illustrator Lita Judge takes readers on a wonder-filled exploration of a child’s imagination, thoughtfully weaving in a gentle suggestion of how to explore that bountiful inner world and let it help them shine with courage in the real one.

On a day when you feel
like no one is listening,
and you wish you could just disappear,
shut your eyes and listen.
Do you hear it?
That isn’t your heart.
That is the sound of your very own wings
beating within.