{"product_id":"free-as-a-bird-9781554884476","title":"Free as a Bird","description":"\u003cp\u003eBorn with Down syndrome, Ruby Jean Sharp comes from a time when being a developmentally disabled person could mean growing up behind locked doors and barred windows and being called names like \"retard\" and \"moron.\" When Ruby Jean's caregiver and loving grandmother dies, her mother takes her to Woodlands School in New Westminster, British Columbia, and rarely visits.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs Ruby Jean herself says: \"Can't say why they called it a school -- a school's a place you go for learnin an then after you get to go home. I never learnt much bout ledders and numbers, an I sure never got to go home.\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt's here in an institution that opened in 1878 and was originally called the Provincial Lunatic Asylum that Ruby Jean learns to survive isolation, boredom, and every kind of abuse. Just when she can hardly remember if she's ever been happy, she learns a lesson about patience and perseverance from an old crow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Dundurn Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/22\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781554884476\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 168\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.10h x 5.20w x 0.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Governor General's Literary Awards - Finalist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Young Adult Canadian Book Award - Finalist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/15\/2011 pg. 54\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eVoice of Youth Advocates\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2010 - Recommended - Hard To Beat\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eQuill \u0026amp; Quire\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2010 pg. 42\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAccelerated Reader Quiz #\/Name: \u003c\/b\u003e141686 \/ Free as a Bird\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReading Level:\u003c\/b\u003e 4.7 \/ \u003cb\u003eInterest Level:\u003c\/b\u003e Middle Grade Plus \/ \u003cb\u003ePoint Value:\u003c\/b\u003e 6\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gina McMurchy-Barber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43040274743477,"sku":"9781554884476","price":9.34,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_1067b4dd-7137-4204-b5d7-9f254b4b1b61.jpg?v=1689088427","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/free-as-a-bird-9781554884476","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}