The Day of the Pelican is a children's novel by Katherine Paterson, first published by Clarion Books on October 19, 2009.

After enduring much hardship, including hunger, illness and a dangerous journey to escape their situation, they are surprised when a church group brings them to America.

[4][5][6] The Christian Science Monitor was more positive and wrote that it "does double duty as both a gripping read and a lesson in compassion and global conflict.

In her quiet way, Meli is a hero, and teen readers safe from conflict themselves may marvel at her humanity.

"[7] The University of Arizona's Worlds of Words was critical of the book and of Paterson's choice to focus on an Albanian family, as they felt that she "justifies the oppression that they undergo and she does not mention what happened to Serbian and Bosnian Muslims during that horrific event in the heart of Europe.