Newbery Medal Winner
Summer of the Swans
by Betsy Byars
Summary
Fourteen year old Sara Godfrey spends a restless summer wrestling with self doubt and frustration until her younger brother Charlie, who has an intellectual disability, goes missing one night after wandering off to find the swans he loves. The frantic search forces Sara to look past her own insecurities and recognize what truly matters to her. Byars writes a sensitive coming of age story about empathy, family, and the small shifts that mark growing up.
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Historical Context & Significance
Betsy Byars wrote the novel partly in response to a magazine article about teaching children with disabilities, bringing rare attention to such characters in young readers' fiction of the era.