Swordbird is an epic new fantasy from twelve-year-old child prodigy Nancy Yi Fan, which will be published globally by HarperCollins. An exciting and action-packed tale of birds at war, this novel shows how friendship and courage can overcome tyranny. Stone-run Forest was once a peaceful place, but suddenly the local woodbird tribes, the Cardinals and Blue Jays, find themselves at odds -- precious food supplies have been stolen and fighting has broken out. Unbeknown to the woodbirds, the evil hawk Turnatt has been turning the tribes against one another as part of his evil strategy to take over the forest. He has already enslaved many captives from the surrounding tribes, who he's been forcing to build an evil fortress in which he plans to confine all the woodbirds. And the Cardinals and Blue Jays are to be his next victims. Thanks to an escaped slavebird Miltin, the woodbirds learn of Turnatt's strategy. But the only way to save the forest is to call on the legendary Swordbird -- the heroic bird of peace. Young birds Aska and Miltin fly off on a dangerous mission to find the Leasone gem -- paired with an ancient song from the Old Scripture, this is the only way to conjure Swordbird's help. But will they return in time to save the forest, or even make it back at all...When Nancy Yi Fan was in sixth grade she learned about terrorism and September 11th. That night she had a startling dream about birds at war. And the next day she started writing Swordbird to convey her message of peace to the world.