THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY
Eleanor "Groovy" Robinson loves cooking and plans to go to culinary school just as soon as she's old enough. But even her thoughtfully planned menus won't fix the things that start to go wrong the year she turns eleven. Suddenly, her father is in jail, her best friend's long-absent mother reappears, and the swallows that make their way to her hometown arrive surprisingly early.
As Groovy begins to expect the unexpected, she learns about the importance of forgiveness and starts to understand the complex stories of the people around her. And on a night where nothing goes as planned, she is amazed to discover that even a really big shake up can't get in the way of a family that needs to come together.
Kathryn Fitzmaurice's tender debut novel is as full of promise as the swallows that return home to San Juan Capistrano every spring.
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NEWS & EVENTS
The Year the Swallows Came Early is now a Bank Street Best Book for 2010.
Bookpage has named The Year the Swallows Came Early as one of the Ten Best Middle Grade Novels of 2009.
The Year the Swallows Came Early has been named by Booklist as a Top Ten First Novels for Youth in 2009.
The Year the Swallows Came Early is now a California Readers Collection List selection for 2010
Scholastic's Instructor Magazine has named The Year the Swallows Came Early as a Best Kids' Book for 2009.
The Year the Swallows Came Early has been nominated by SCIBA (Southern California Independent Booksellers Association) for their annual book awards.
Kathryn will be attending the 39th annual SCBWI summer conference from July 30-August 2, 2010.
MEET KATHRYN
When Kathryn was thirteen, her mother sent her to New York to visit her grandmother, who was a science fiction author. After seeing how her grandmother created the characters in her books, Kathryn decided that she, too, wanted to become a writer.