dePaola, Tomie
Gemma and her father, Duke Gemma, love to sit in their courtyard where birds of all colors decorate the trees and sing beautiful songs. When her father becomes ill, Gemma realizes that the only hope for her father's recovery comes from the bird songs. Unfortunately, it is winter and all of the birds fly south, all except the Duke's favorite bird, La Colomba. La Colomba withstands the cold wind and snow in order to sing the Duke back to health.