Catbird

In Catbird: The Ballad of Barbi Prim, the world meets an insightful, opinionated eight-year-old who’s already taken a few steps toward becoming a pioneer—but also a shadow of her quirky self. Although she’s corroded—sometimes literally—by a toxic but familiar social atmosphere, her love of singing propels her to become the first ordained woman cantor in 3,000 years of Jewish history. A family crisis exposes old and enduring wounds, but she begins to rescue herself—by diligently going to therapy—and embarks on an imperfect but perpetual metamorphosis, becoming the well-coiffed heroine of her own story. Barbara Ostfeld shows us that we are all brave pioneers—at becoming our true selves.