George Ella Lyon

George Ella Lyon is a poet, writer, teacher, musician, and social activist with Appalachian roots and a global reach. She has published five poetry collections, a novel and memoir for adults, novels and poetry for young people, and many children’s picture books. Her most recent titles include Back to the Light: Poems (University Press of Kentucky, 2021) and Time to Fly (Atheneum). Married to musician and writer Steve Lyon, she served as Kentucky Poet Laureate (2015-2016) and was recently inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.

Time to Fly

In the spirit of Mark Teague’s Fly, Baby Bird learns to overcome his fear of leaving the nest in this sweet and encouraging picture book.

Mama Bird says it’s time to fly! Baby Bird thinks not. Nest is best…or is it? With the help of his mama, Baby Bird discovers the amazing things that can happen if he finds the courage to spread his wings and fly.

A timorous fledgling needs some gentle persuasion when it’s time to leave the nest. [Time to Fly] reassures both prospective grads and younger children heading off to preschool or day care that they are ready to take wing. A sensitive, loving variation on a perennial picture-book theme. — Kirkus

A fresh breeze blows through this familiar story of nurture and independence, thanks to Lyon’s (Trains Run!) emphatic metered verse, which offers structure to the avian ordeal, and Fizer Coleman’s (Birds of a Feather) digital art, whose varied cinematic framing evokes layered textures of printmaking and watercolor. — Publishers Weekly