51 pages 1 hour read

Ann Braden

Flight Of The Puffin

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2021

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Symbols & Motifs

The Art Cards

Content Warning: This section mentions bullying and the death of a young child.

Libby initially creates and sends art cards out into the world. These art cards thematically symbolize The Great Impact of Small Acts and grow to represent other meanings depending on who’s sending or receiving them. Libby decides to create the cards after she’s grounded and told that art is a waste of time; she resolves to spread happiness and acceptance in the world even if she can’t experience those things herself. The first card she creates has a sunrise on it and lets recipients know that they’re amazing and not alone. She leaves the first one outside the dentist’s office, hoping that an upset boy she saw will find it. After that, she makes more cards and puts them out, each time with the idea that doing so will prove to herself that she’s more than what her parents are or expect her to be: “They are so different from anything my parents or brother would ever think to make. And they are useful. Something that can make someone’s day better” (71).

When Libby hears about Vincent’s experiences of bullying, she mails him a card with a puffin stamp on it to let him know that he’s great just as he is, turning the card into a symbol of blurred text
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