# 15 FLIGHT BEHAVIOR
| Author : | Barbara Kingsolver CARLISLE, KY |
| Artist : | Michelle Armstrong LEXINGTON, KY |
| Sponsor : | Kentucky Homes & Gardens Magazine |
Barbara Kingsolver (1955): Flight Behavior
Barbara Kingsolver grew up in Carlisle, Ky., where her father had a medical practice until he moved his family to Léopoldville, Congo. There, her parents worked as missionaries in public health. This experience prompted Kingsolver to write the 1998 novel, The Poisonwood Bible, perhaps her best-known work. She has published seven novels, one non-fiction work, one history book, one collection of short fiction, one collection of poetry, and three essay collections. Trained as a biologist, much of Kingsolver’s writing reflects her deep knowledge of environmental science, including her 2012 novel, Flight Behavior. The book is set in Appalachia and explores how the convergence of environmental, economic, and political crises can impact even the smallest communities.
Michelle Armstrong:
BOOKBENCHESLEX.ORG
The inspiration to illustrate Flight Behavior came from my love of Barbara Kingsolver’s works and her passion for saving the pollinators. The novel is about how climate change is destroying the habitats of species, and why that matters. I previously painted a mural to raise awareness of the plight of the honeybee population, another pollinator in danger of rapid decline. Michelle Armstrong is a visual arts teacher at Cardinal Valley Elementary School.