The Strange Birds of Flannery O'Connor

A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2020

Nominated for a 2021 Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Award

Featured in 2021 Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibition

A 2022 Book All Young Georgians Should Read

2020 Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Honor Award

I intend to stand firm and let the peacocks multiply, for I am sure that, in the end, the last word will be theirs. -- Flannery O'Connor

When she was young, the writer Flannery O'Connor was captivated by the chickens in her yard. She would watch their wings flap, their beaks peck, and their eyes glint. At age six, her life was forever changed when she and a chicken she had been training to walk forwards and backwards were featured in the local news, and she realized that people want to see what is odd and strange in life. But while she loved birds of all varieties and kept several species around the house, it was the peacocks that came to dominate her life. Written by Amy Alznauer with devotional attention to all things odd and illustrated in radiant paint by Ping Zhu, The Strange Birds of Flannery O'Connor explores the beginnings of one author's lifelong obsession. 

Amy Alznauer lives in Chicago with her husband, two children, a dog, a parakeet, sometimes chicks, and a part-time fish, but, as of today, no elephants or peacocks.

Ping Zhu is a freelance illustrator who has worked with clients big and small, won some awards based on the work she did for aforementioned clients, attracted new clients with shiny awards, and is hoping to maintain her livelihood in Brooklyn by repeating that cycle.