The Tragical Tale of Birdie Bloom is a story about hopeful orphans, sensitive dragons, grouchy witches, mysterious butlers, handwritten letters, books with a mind of their own and is for anyone who has ever wished for a friend.

Cover design by Jessie Gang. Cover Illustration by Melissa Manwill.

Cover design by Jessie Gang. Cover Illustration by Melissa Manwill.

Advance praise for The Tragical Tale of Birdie Bloom:

“I absolutely ADORED Birdie's story from beginning to end.  The most charming book, footnotes and all!”

- Liesl Shurtliff, New York Times bestselling author of the Fairly (True) Tales

“Dragons, witches, and resourceful orphans? Magic, adventure, and friendship? There is so much to love about Birdie’s tragical tale!”

- Jessica Day George, New York Times bestselling author of the Tuesdays at the Castle series

“Charming and darkly funny, this debut has definite shades of Roald Dahl—it’s a natural successor to Matilda and The Witches. Middle-grade readers who like their fairy tales playing against the rules and their adventure stories with a dash of humor will gobble this up.”

- ALA Booklist

Story Summary

In the fairy-tale kingdom of Wanderly, everyone has a role.

Birdie Bloom is a Tragical. Doomed to an unhappy ending, she spends her days locked away with seventeen other orphans at Foulweather’s Home for the Tragical, where she’s supposed to be learning to accept her terrible fate.

Agnes Prunella Crunch is a witch. The wicked kind. Which means she’s supposed to be perfecting her witchy cackle and flinging curses from The Book of Evil Deeds.

But lately, Birdie has been desperate for an escape, and Agnes has been in a bit of a witchy slump. The one thing they could both use is… a friend. And with the help of some magical Winds, a wayward letter, and a very unusual book, they might just find each other—and together rewrite their story into one that (just between us…) isn’t very Tragical at all.

Available now!

Preorder: 

If you would like to order a signed copy, please contact A Whale of a Tale Children’s Bookshoppe directly, and they will be happy to assist you. Thank you for your support!