How to Be Brave

Ages 8 to 12

A delightfully zany yet heartwarming middle grade novel about a young girl who bands together with her boarding school friends to find her missing mother.

Calla and her mother Elizabeth live a quiet, happy life together. Elizabeth happens to be the world's leading duck expert. Unfortunately, being a duck expert doesn't always pay the bills, and they struggle to get by.

When Elizabeth is offered a trip to the Amazon to research a rare duck breed, it's an opportunity too good to miss. But it means that Calla must go to the same boarding school where Elizabeth found herself when she was orphaned years ago. Calla learns that much has changed since her mother's student days, and her mother's old rival duck-researcher, Magda DeWitt, is now in charge. Then, Calla receives terrible news: Her mother's plane is missing.

Can Calla, her friends, and a crew of nuns outwit the headmistress and find the plane before it’s too late?

Godwin Books

About the Author

Daisy May Johnson is a writer, researcher, chartered librarian, and former A14 Writer in Residence with the University of Cambridge. She blogs about children’s literature at Did You Ever Stop To Think, tweets as @chaletfan, and even sends the occasional TinyLetter. When she’s not doing any of that, you can find her curled up with her favorite school stories or baking the world’s best chocolate brownies. She lives in the UK, and How to Be Brave is her first book.