Flight of the Puffin is a middle grade novel written by Ann Braden and first published in 2021. Braden’s middle grade fiction celebrates achievements of the heart and personal growth. A work of realistic fiction, Flight of the Puffin follows four 12-year-olds who find unexpected connections and purpose as they learn about how small acts can have great impact and the importance of both staying true to oneself and standing one’s ground against bullying. The book was a Cybil Award Finalist, an Amazon Editor’s Pick, a Bank Street Children’s Book of the Year, and many more.

This guide refers to the 2021 Penguin Random House hardcover edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain descriptions of bias against transgender and nonbinary people, bullying, being unhoused, the death of a young child, and hunting.

Plot Summary

At the end of April, seventh grader Libby Delmar paints a sunrise on a school wall—without permission. She’s caught and grounded for a month, and she also receives an in-school suspension. Libby’s parents are frustrated with her for caring more about art than anything else, and Libby feels like her family ignores and underappreciates her; she feels like a dandelion pushing through a crack in concrete. That night, Libby draws a sunrise on an index card with an affirmation to remind herself that she’s amazing just as she is.

In a nearby rural area, Jack Galenos, who is the same age as Libby, goes to a school that has two rooms and 17 students, who are all different ages. Jack likes helping out with the younger kids and has a special bond with a boy named Joey. Jack cares deeply about his school because it has always been a constant and a comfort for him, particularly after his younger brother, Alex, died. Jack carries painful memories of their dad bullying and shaming Alex because he loved butterflies and tended toward the feminine. When a woman from the school board tells Jack that his school needs gender-neutral bathrooms and several other changes, Jack starts to resist the thought of change.

Across the country, a boy named Vincent, who loves math and triangles, tries to cope with a bully at his school named Cal. Vincent’s mom loves him but doesn’t understand what he’s going through, and Vincent wants the world to know who he is. He decides to wear a shirt with a puffin on it to school and is instantly mocked for it.

Near Vincent lives T, a nonbinary kid who left home when their mother and uncle didn’t accept them for who they are. T now lives on a sidewalk outside a drop-in center for unhoused people.

The day after Libby is grounded, her brother and parents rudely awaken her, telling her that she should never have quit the softball team. She paints over her sunrise at school and, on the way home, sees a boy being dragged into the dentist’s office, obviously terrified. She leaves her sunrise art card for him in a bush nearby, hoping that he’ll find it on his way out.

Vincent attends school in the puffin shirt, and other students call him a girl throughout the day; he cries himself to sleep that night. T can think of nothing but how hungry they are.

Jack overhears that his school could close because its state funding is at risk; he decides that he must act. He tells his dad about the school’s potential closure and has the idea to present a petition at the next town hall meeting. Jack’s dad and uncle encourage him, and he begins photocopying and distributing petitions. He and Joey then collect signatures. After school, Jack must get the ladder out for a neighbor and experiences painful memories of his brother, who died when he fell off that ladder. Jack tried to save him, but help took too long to arrive.

Vincent wakes up, eats his favorite Puffins cereal, and wishes that he was more like a puffin. He decides to wear his puffin shirt to school again, and Cal takes it from him, leaving him without a shirt. Later, Vincent hears his mom talking about tough love and essentially blaming him for getting bullied. He uses all his savings to buy a new shirt and attempts to draw a puffin on it, but it doesn’t turn out as he hoped. He decides to stay home for a few days. T gets a meal from the drop-in center and uses an old ketchup tub as a water dish for their dog.

Libby’s mother tells her that she must start prepping meals after school to fill her time and help the family, and Libby hates the idea at first. In the evening, she draws more art cards containing words of encouragement and then sneaks out to place them around town. The next day, she continues doing this, and the lady at the art store tells her about a boy named Vincent who is being severely bullied for his interest in puffins. Libby decides to mail Vincent an art card with a puffin stamp on it to remind him that it’s okay to be himself. Libby’s mom learns that she snuck out and takes away her pencil crayons, which crushes Libby.

Jack takes his petition to the town hall meeting alone and unintentionally overemphasizes the topic of gender-neutral bathrooms. The meeting attracts negative attention, and people pinpoint Jack as “transphobic” and unwilling to modernize. He receives hate online and, frustrated, throws a rock, which accidentally kills a baby bird. Jack attempts to save the bird by building it a nest, but the bird dies. Libby, driving by with her father, sees Jack standing outside, surrounded by angry people. Vincent receives Libby’s postcard, which lifts his spirits, inspiring him to extend kindness too: He makes sandwiches for T, and T gratefully takes them. Vincent learns about nonbinary people from T, while T learns about puffins from Vincent.

T advises Vincent on dealing with bullies, telling him to stand tall and wide and put his hands on his hips. Vincent notices that while doing so, his arms form triangles, and he finds it empowering. On the internet, Vincent hears about Jack and his statements, and he decides to send him an art card with an important message about acceptance and freedom of expression. When Jack gets the letter, he realizes that his parents never accepted Alex either, and he cries, wishing that he could have done more to change that.

Libby comes home after school to prepare dinner, thinking about what a shriveled mushroom with no hope of recovery might be like. She makes art cards with mushrooms on them and sneaks out in the rain to distribute them. At the town hall, Libby sees Jack, who is delivering a letter that he wrote. Libby gives Jack a card and reminds him to think about why change might be important for others, even if he doesn’t personally want it.

Jack leaves his letter in a plastic bag. The letter details his change of mindset and desire to make everyone feel accepted at his school. At home, he talks to his mom about Alex, asking why she let his father bully Alex so much. She admits that she tried to keep the peace but failed, and together, they take out Alex’s butterfly drawings to display, honoring him as he wanted to be. Meanwhile, Vincent uses his triangle stance to stand up to Cal and his friends, happily announcing this achievement to T on his way home. He joins a geometry club with his teacher and another student, finally feeling like he fits in somewhere.

Libby gets a letter from Jack informing her that he knows Vincent and that Vincent received her card; she’s thrilled that something she did made a difference. During a difficult conversation with her mom, she learns that her mom had a difficult childhood and constantly had low-quality food, which explains why she insists that Libby help with meals. Libby starts to understand her mother and leaves her an art card to cheer her up.

Jack and Joey learn that their school is staying open and celebrate by having banana bread and making more art cards together. Jack’s mother makes one too, and they send them to T. When Jack realizes that Joey has one of Libby’s art cards too, he tells Libby, who is amazed that her first card was found by the person she hoped would find it. She musters the courage to tell her mother how much art means to her and gets a new set of pencil crayons and index cards. T gets Jack’s and Joey’s cards, which provide comfort, inspiring T to call home. T reminds themself that they’re great just as they are and stands with their hands on their hips, just like Vincent.