A Little Piece of Sky is the narration of Song Byrd’s life. Born out of an adulterous affair, Song is a beautiful African American girl who does not know her beauty or her worth.

Some might say that she was abused by a mother who seemed to never tell her she was beautiful, but subjected her to situations that only made Song’s self-esteem level nonexistent.

It was nothing new for Song to be called ugly and she had gotten used to being called out of her name.

“My face is so shiny that I’m ashamed because I unwittingly defy conventions of beauty.” Acknowledging that she was really that bad looking, she continued: “They see my crinkly, kinky, unruly hair. The hair that laughs at neat ribbons and tidy barrettes. They see my long, skinny legs, interrupted only by a knobby, ashy knee, not unlike a giraffe, on each leg.”

As you read more into A Little Piece of Sky, you will understand how names and words can hurt a person, depriving them of the really beautiful things in life. Song lives in a world unlike many young girls and boys, with siblings who are little or no help in the struggle for survival.

Fortunately, there is a neighbor who offers refuge not only to Song, but eventually her sister and niece, too.

Then Song has a way out. Maybe it wasn’t the way she would have wanted, following the murder of her mother, but still she would get to see life through a different lens as she moved to live with her father.

Watch Song as she overcomes guilt—she holds herself responsible for her mother’s death. And even more powerful are the relationships she is able to foster as she comes of age.

A Little Piece of Sky grips the reader and Ms. Bailey-Williams opens up Song’s world, exposing all of her weaknesses and innermost thoughts as she survives and flourishes.


If you have a book you would like reviewed, contact Cheryl at csmith@dallasweekly.com