On a Wing and a Tear

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

In this story by beloved author Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee), close friends Melanie and Ray join Grampa Charlie Halfmoon to drive the legendary player Great-Grandfather Bat to the rematch of the Great Ball Game on a road trip where nothing goes as expected and love saves the day. 

Melanie “Mel” Roberts is sensitive, bookish, and Muscogee-Odawa. Ray Halfmoon is upbeat, artistic, and Cherokee-Seminole. Since the Robertses became houseguests of the Halfmoons, the two young people have become practically like siblings.Behind the bungalow where they live, Great-Grandfather Bat has taken refuge in an old oak tree. He’s a living legend—having won the Great Ball Game for the Animals against the Birds way, way back when. A rematch is coming up quickly, but Great-Grandfather Bat’s right wing has a tear in it. How will he heal up and make the long journey in time to play?Fortunately, Grampa Charlie Halfmoon offers to drive Bat from Chicago down to the traditional playing field outside Macon, Georgia. Mel and Ray are determined to help Bat however they can, along with their plucky neighbor Gray Squirrel. Together, they all set off on a road trip—facing adventure, danger, and a hair-raising mystery—on the way to the historic game.With loving care and boisterous humor, acclaimed author Cynthia Leitich Smith tells a modern folklore story about friendship, embracing the unexpected, and all the overlapping circles that connect us throughout Creation.

About the Author

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the bestselling, acclaimed author of books for all ages, including Rain Is Not My Indian Name, Indian Shoes, Jingle Dancer, On a Wing and a Tear, Sisters of the Neversea, the Blue Stars series, Harvest House, and Hearts Unbroken, which won the American Indian Youth Literature Award. Cynthia is also the anthologist of Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids and was named the NSK Neustadt Laureate. She is the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint at HarperCollins Children's Books, and served as the Katherine Paterson Inaugural Endowed Chair on the faculty of the MFA program in writing for children and young adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Cynthia is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and lives in Austin, Texas.