The Bird Caper: Middle Grade Fiction (The Crow's Tales)

THE BIRD CAPER The Crow's Tales

GOLD MEDAL WINNER in The Readers' Favorite Book Awards 2025
GOLD MEDAL WINNER in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2024

Prestigious B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree
Gold Medal Winner Literary Titan Book Awards 2024
Authors of the Award-Winning The Big Dream!

Are you ready for a thrilling adventure that will leave you on the edge of your seat? Look no further. In THE BIRD CAPER, enjoy a rollicking mystery adventure! Tensions mount when ten-year-old Brandon’s life spirals out of control because his parents decide to uproot him from the only home he’s ever known. “Holy Ravioli!” Brandon doesn’t like the idea for a hundred or more reasons. Why can’t his life stay just as it is? No CHANGES!! He worries about his pet birds and his friends. Will he lose everything important to him?

Who knew moving to a new neighborhood could be so crazy? Or frightening! Brandon has moved near the scariest bullies in Middle School, the infamous B.B. Boys! How will he navigate their torture? He’ll need a plan to save himself. But wait… when Brandon’s pet crow, Ralph, is accused of stealing the head bully’s prized whistle, there’s real trouble. Now, he needs a plan to save Ralph!

Amidst the chaos, Brandon discovers an unexpected ally in the form of ladybugs, leading to a surprising resolution that teaches him that CHANGE while daunting, can also open doors to new friendships and adventures. A must-read for boys and girls 8-12 years old. Fans of “The Mysterious Benedict Society” will devour this captivating tale. Don’t wait, grab your copy today!

Don’t forget to read THE BIG DREAM! Book 2 of THE CROW’S TALES, and THE CROW'S RING, book 3 in the 3-book series. Entertaining stories with wholesome values!

The Back Story by Authors Pannell & Sigfusson

It’s a funny thing. THE BIRD CAPER isn’t the book it started to be. We were working on our first novel, THE BIG DREAM, and decided we wanted three books suitable for three different grade levels. We thought our readers would have fun growing up along side the characters in the book as they grew older. When we first thought THE BIRD CAPER was completed, it was ten thousand words and written for third grade.

As we continued working on the book, we realized how much we enjoyed writing for middle grades, scrapped our original writing plan, and focused on turning THE BIRD CAPER into a novel. We’re happy about that decision. We expanded nearly every chapter in the book and added several chapters to the front. The final book is about thirty-five thousand words. It more than tripled in length from its original size.

Fun fact! The main character, Brandon, changed age three times while we wrote the story! Pretty crazy, right? When we started, Brandon was eight years old. Soon after we changed our plans for the story, we made him nine. Then, when we were nearly finished, we suddenly decided Brandon needed to be ten. That special double-digit age we all look forward to… it just felt right!

Here’s the scoop. There are three books in The Crow’s Tales series. THE BIRD CAPER, THE BIG DREAM, and THE CROW’S RING. Each book is a stand-alone story (one story does not depend on another). However, there is something special about reading the books in order because the characters are different ages in each book.

We hope our readers enjoy the adventures of Brandon and Ralph!

Victoria E. Pannell, a middle-grade fiction author, grew up in southern New Jersey. She graduated from Rowan University with a degree in English and Education and has tons of experience in public affairs and communications with an MBA in Public Administration. At 73, she co-wrote her first book, "The Big Dream." It was a Finalist in the Readers' Choice Book Awards and won the Wishing Shelf Book Awards' Red Ribbon Award. She went on to co-author "The Bird Caper," which won GOLD in the Readers' Favorite International Book Awards, GOLD in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, received the prestigious indie B.R.A.G. Medallion, GOLD in the Literary Titan Book Awards, and Finalist in the Reader's Views Book Awards. "The Bird Caper," with its theme focused on the challenges of "change," has been praised for its relatable message, resonating with boys and girls around the world. "The Crow's Ring" is the third in the series, The Crow's Tales, and won SILVER in the Readers' Choice Book Awards. She co-authors with her husband, Thorir Sigfusson, and the duo writes under the pen name Pannell and Sigfusson. They love writing stories about friendship and humor. Victoria is a ventriloquist and loves putting words in your mouth when you least expect it.

Thorir Sigfusson came to the United States from Iceland when he was twelve and recalls those years of transition, not knowing the language, as a time of great adjustment. Today, as an award-winning author, Thorir crafts relatable stories for middle-grade readers, having begun his writing journey after retiring from a long career as an architect. Thorir co-authored his debut novel, "The Big Dream," a Readers' Choice Book Awards finalist and winner of the Wishing Shelf Book Awards' Red Ribbon Award. He went on to co-author "The Bird Caper," which won a GOLD award in the 2025 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards, a GOLD award in the 2024 Wishing Shelf Book Awards, the prestigious indie B.R.A.G. Medallion, GOLD in the Literary Titan Book Award, and Finalist in the Reader's Views Book Awards. He writes with his wife, Victoria E. Pannell, and the duo writes under the pen name Pannell and Sigfusson. "The Bird Caper," with its theme focused on the challenges of "change," has been praised for its relatable message, resonating with boys and girls around the world. "The Crow's Ring" is the third in their series, The Crow's Tales, and won SILVER in the Readers' Choice Book Awards. Thorir is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).

Award-winning illustrator and author.