This is the story of a sparrow who worries about everything - whether there will be enough to eat, where he will build his new nest, how he will find a mate, whether his family will be eaten by a bird of prey. Then he hears about the Great Father who made and cares for all his creation - even the tiniest sparrow. This delightful story has helped, reassured and entertained many thousands of children since it was first published in 1978.

The story of a sensitive, gifted African American girl who tells us with mordant humor what it feels like to spend every day wishing so hard that you could fly away from it all Sparrow has always had a difficult time making friends. She would always rather stay home on the weekends with her mother, an affluent IT executive at a Manhattan bank, reading, or watching the birds, than play with other kids. And that's made school a lonely experience for her. It's made LIFE a lonely experience.But when the one teacher who really understood her -- Mrs. Wexler, the school librarian, a woman who let her eat her lunch in the library office rather than hide in a bathroom stall, a woman who shared her passion for novels and knew just the ones she'd love -- is killed in a freak car accident, Sparrow's world unravels and she's found on the roof of her school in an apparent suicide attempt.With the help of an insightful therapist, Sparrow finally reveals the truth of her inner life. And it's here that she discovers an outlet in rock & roll music...

A visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry, The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: to make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end. Praise for The Sparrow “A startling, engrossing, and moral work of fiction.”—The New York Times Book Review “Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them.”—Entertainment Weekly “Powerful . . . The Sparrow tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Provocative, challenging . . . recalls both Arthur C. Clarke and H. G. Wells, with a dash of Ray Bradbury for good measure.”—The Dallas Morning News “[Mary Doria] Russell shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense.”—USA Today

At the Blue Bell Amish School, fourteen-year-old Amelia Stoltzfus has been asked by her teacher, Miss Horning, to stay after school. It's an unusual request, and she's felt edgy and fearful all day long. Worse, Miss Horning has been acting peculiar. Miss Horning asks Amelia to be a substitute teach while she leaves for a month to take care of her ailing mother. After much consideration, Amelia agrees, but she still wonders why Miss Horning is beings so fidgety. By the time she starts making her way home, it's dark out, and Amelia feels nervous and fearful. Footsteps begin following her. Suddenly, she's struck from behind and slumps to the ground. At Amelia's home, her parents, Ben and Elizabeth, are deeply worried. Amelia should have returned from school long before now. They start searching for her, and they soon discover that Miss Horning is missing, too. Neighbors, friends, and even the state police come to help. But there is also a silent, sullen stranger who lends a hand. Is he somehow connected to the disappearances? As events begin to unfold and dark secrets come to light, it becomes clear that the Amish community and their neighbors worked together to help those in need.