Autumn Bird & The Runaway
Autumn Bird & The Runaway
Cody was in the car with Mr. Bird and Boomer, the dog. Mr. Bird wasn’t happy. He hadn’t spoken since they left the house. Cody, sitting next to him, was far from happy. He was on his way back to his old place. His dad’s place.
They were waiting for the lights at Parliament and Bloor. The sun was down but there was still light enough for Cody to make out individual graves in the cemetery on the left. The one with the tall broken pillar was his favourite in the whole place. Down Parliament Street, his building loomed, tall, dingy, and scary.
“You won’t—” he started. Meaning, You won’t hand me over to my dad? He’d asked before they left the house, and Mr. Bird had said no.
Mr. Bird said it again. But he didn’t know how angry Dad got, how violent, how unpredictable. And did Mr. Bird’s no really mean no? Cody had heard his dad say over and over again that you couldn’t trust an Indian. Look at Autumn. She took him off the street and let him into her house – and then got mad at him for nothing! Maybe her dad was lying. Maybe he did plan to hand Cody over.
Cody and Autumn are in the same class at school but do not travel in the same social circles. Cody is a poor white kid from an abusive home, and Autumn is Cree but has managed to ingratiate herself into the cool kids’ group even though she doesn’t really like most of the kids. Autumn’s father is a prominent artist, and her mother is a doctor. Cody can’t believe his luck when he runs away from home after a severe beating from his alcoholic father. Autumn finds him unconscious under a bush and takes him home to her house, the kind of home Cody can only dream about. She hides him in her father’s studio, hoping her cool friends will never find out and wondering what will happen if or when her parents discover Cody. Both kids are about thirteen years old but come from vastly different backgrounds and experiences.
Autumn Bird & The Runaway is a wonderful story that takes the mainstream perspective of white people generally being rich, successful, and nice and turns it neatly on its head. Cody is white, but he lives in squaller and abject poverty with his father who regularly beats him. Cody has learned prejudice and racism from his father, and there are several incidents in the book as Cody gets to know Autumn’s family where Cody is confronted with conflicting beliefs about the Bird family. Cody, along with the readers, must realign their prejudices and perspectives as they read the story.
On the other side of the story, Autumn’s parents are very successful in their selected fields, and they live well. They are educated, care about others and their community and volunteer at the local community centre, helping the poor. They have family discussions about society and unfairness and prejudice in the world, and they openly discuss with Autumn Cody’s racist remarks and beliefs. Even though Cody insults the family and their ancestors, the Bird family continues to help and support him and, through their actions, try to change Cody’s racist beliefs. The story is told through alternating chapters from the perspectives of Autumn and Cody, sometimes relating the same incidents from each main character’s viewpoint.
Autumn Bird & The Runaway is a great story which can help parents, teachers and young readers confront their biased beliefs and have open discussions about racism and prejudice in their schools and communities. The book’s contents make readers think about what their beliefs are founded on and hopefully helps change biases and prejudices.
Mary Harelkin Bishop is the author of the “Tunnels of Moose Jaw Adventure” series as well as many other books, including her Reconciliation books, Mistasinîy: Buffalo Rubbing Stone and Skye Bird and the Eagle Feather, published by DriverWorks Ink. She revised and republished Tunnels of Time, “Moose Jaw Adventure # 1" with DriverWorks Ink in September 2020 and Tunnels of Terror, “ Moose Jaw Adventure # 2" in September 2021. She is currently working on revising Tunnels of Treachery for release in 2022. Always busy and interested in kids and writing, Mary is currently undertaking writing projects with schools as well as mentoring adult writers and doing author presentations. Currently, she is teaching a Canadian Children’s Literature class to Master’s students at the University of Saskatchewan. You can find Mary on her website – maryhbishop.ca, or Facebook and view video clips on her YouTube channel. You can also find her books on the DriverWorks Ink website.