The story of a sick baby bird nursed back to health and into the wild.

“All blue jays have a penchant for stealing, but Jemima will steal your heart. Three cheers for this spunky baby bird.” —Sy Montgomery, New York Times–bestselling author When Jemima, a young orphaned blue jay, is brought to wildlife rehabilitator Julie Zickefoose, she is a virtually tailless, palm-sized bundle of gray-blue fluff. But she is starved and very sick. Julie’s constant care brings her around, and as Jemima is raised for eventual release, she takes over the house and the rest of the author’s summer. Shortly after release, Jemima turns up with a deadly disease. But medicating a free-flying wild bird is a challenge. When the PBS show Nature expresses interest in filming Jemima, Julie must train her to behave on camera, as the bird gets ever wilder. Jemima bonds with a wild jay, stretching her ties with the family. Throughout, Julie grapples with the fallout of Jemima’s illness, studies molt and migration, and does her best to keep Jemima strong and wild. She falls hard for this engaging, feisty and funny bird, a creative muse and source of strength through the author’s own heartbreaking changes. Emotional and honest, Saving Jemima is a universal story of the communion between a wild creature and the human chosen to raise it. “Mixing cute blue-jay stories with scientific facts, the author teaches readers lots of ornithology, and, by adding tales of the simultaneous turmoil her family was undergoing, she shows how nature and animals can heal heartbreak. Zickefoose has produced another hard-to-put-down winner!” —Booklist (starred review) “A heartwarming account for all interested in natural history, especially birds, animal behavior, and wildlife rehabilitation.” —Library Journal

A frequent commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered," Zickefoose now presents paintings of scenes from her beloved southern Ohio home, illuminated in well-crafted essays based on her daily walks and observations.

Chronicles the author's rescue of an abandoned barn owlet, from her efforts to resuscitate and raise the young owl through their nineteen years together, during which the author made key discoveries about owl behavior.

If you’ve ever wondered what goes on in bird nests, or what happens after a fledgling leaves the nest, come along on Julie’s sensitive exploration of often-uncharted ornithological ground. This beautiful book is as much an art book as it is a natural history, something readers have come to expect from Julie Zickefoose. More than 400 watercolor paintings show the breathtakingly swift development of seventeen different species of wild birds. Sixteen of those species nest on Julie's wildlife sanctuary, so she knows the birds intimately, and writes about them with authority. To create the bulk of this extraordinary work, Julie would borrow a wild nestling, draw it, then return it to its nest every day until it fledged. Some were orphans she raised by hand, giving the ultimate insider’s glimpse into their lives. In sparkling prose, Julie shares a lifetime of insight about bird breeding biology, growth, and cognition. As an artist and wildlife rehabilitator, Julie possesses a unique skill set that includes sketching and painting rapidly from life as well as handling delicate hatchlings. She is uniquely positioned to create such an opus, and in fact, nothing like it has ever been attempted. Julie has many fans, and she will gain many more with this unparalleled work.

Discover the addictive and uplifting story of reinvention, self-discovery and the meaning of true love from the bestselling author of Life Swap and The Friends We Keep 'Inspirational, uplifting, made me laugh and left me feeling very happy' 5***** Reader Review 'Compulsively readable' Sunday Times 'Perfect if you want to feel uplifted . . . So relatable' 5***** Reader Review _______ Jemima Jones is overweight. About seven stone overweight. Treated like a slave by her thin and bitchy flatmates, lorded over at the Kilburn Herald by the beautiful Geraldine (less talented, but better paid), her only consolation is food. What with that and her passion for her charming, sexy colleague Ben, she knows her life needs changing. But can Jemima reinvent herself? And should she? _______ 'The kind of novel you'll gobble up in a single sitting' Cosmopolitan 'Green writes with acerbic wit about the law of the dating jungle' Sunday Express Readers ADORE Jemima J: 'Truly uplifting and fun' 5***** Reader Review 'I was utterly engrossed' 5***** Reader Review 'A fantastic book that you can't put down' 5***** Reader Review 'Beautiful and heartwarming' 5***** Reader Review 'Light hearted, warm and funny' 5***** Reader Review

Julie Zickefoose lives for the moment when a wild, free living bird that she has raised or rehabilitated comes back to visit her; their eyes meet and they share a spark of understanding. Her reward for the grueling work of rescuing birds—such as feeding baby hummingbirds every twenty minutes all day long—is her empathy with them and the satisfaction of knowing the world is a birdier and more beautiful place. The Bluebird Effect is about the change that's set in motion by one single act, such as saving an injured bluebird—or a hummingbird, swift, or phoebe. Each of the twenty five chapters covers a different species, and many depict an individual bird, each with its own personality, habits, and quirks. And each chapter is illustrated with Zickefoose's stunning watercolor paintings and drawings. Not just individual tales about the trials and triumphs of raising birds, The Bluebird Effect mixes humor, natural history, and memoir to give readers an intimate story of a life lived among wild birds.