"My dad and I live in an airport. That's because we don't have a home and the airport is better than the streets. We are careful not to get caught."

So begins Ms. Bunting's 1991 story, "Fy Away Home" about a homeless child and his father who live in an airport, spending their days trying to blend in and stay under the radar of local security.

Told from the child's persepective, FAH is not an easy book to read, even (and perhaps especially) for adults. Andrew, the narrator, frankly discusses how he and his dad avoid detection by wearing blue, changing terminals, keeping clean in the bathrooms and sleeping sitting up. A number of their fellow homeless friends have been discovered and tossed out, usually for loud or unusual behavior. It's terribly important to Andrew and his dad that they be as invisable as possible.

Andrew tells how his dad takes the bus on weekends to a job where he's a janitor and how the Medinas, another homeless family, watch over Andrew on those days. Dad fishes newspapers out of the trash and makes phone calls, presumably about renting an apartment, but always returns disappointed.

The crux of the book comes when Andrew discovers a bird trapped inside the airport. He keeps an eye on it until one day the sliding glass doors open for just a second and whoosh! the bird flies away to freedom. This becomes a sort of metaphor for Andrew as he stands at the window, watching the planes take off at the end; an end in which we don't know what will become of Andrew of his dad.

"Fly Away Home" was clearly written before the security crackdown after 9/11, but the message will still ring true to post-9/11 readers. There's a sadness and frustration that runs through the book, and a low level of fear of discovery: it's obvious that if Andrew and his dad are discovered, they'll be turned out and who knows what will happen next. Still, there's a feeling of hope to the book and the certainty that, as humans, we can adapt to anything; "it's nice right here, though, isn't it, Andrew? it's warm. It's safe. And the price is right."

Though a picture book, very young readers most likely wont get much out of the book or else they may become fearful that they too will become homeless and need to live in an airport or other public building. I've read this book to my 3rd graders and most of them grasped the seriousness of the text, though some were frustrated at the ambiguity of the ending.

I would recommend this book for school-aged kids and upper grades as a way of communicating a difficult concept-- homelessness-- to children in a truthful but not terrifying or horrific way. Excellent work, Ms. Bunting, as usual!!

Fly Away Home is sad story about a boy and his father who live in airports. This story really makes you realize how lucky you really are. This is a great story for parents and their children of all ages to read together.