Fly, Cher Ami, Fly!: The Pigeon Who Saved the Lost Battalion

Based on a heroic true story

 

The soldier held the little creature gently with both hands.

In the dim light, he carefully attached the message to the bird’s leg.

He called out the bird’s name: “Cher Ami. Dear Friend, go safely. Save us!”

Fly, Cher Ami, fly!

 

Cher Ami was one of six hundred carrier pigeons used by the American Army during World War I. Riveting text by award-winning author Robert Burleigh and lush illustrations by Robert MacKenzie capture the intrepid story of his most famous flight. A tale of triumph and bravery, Fly, Cher Ami, Fly! tells the true story of a heroic pigeon who, against all odds, helped rescue a lost battalion of soldiers and left an unforgettable mark on American history.

Robert Burleigh is the author of Seurat and La Grande Jatte, for which he won a prestigious Orbis Pictus Award; Paul Cézanne: A Painter’s Journey; Toulouse-Lautrec: The Moulin Rouge and the City of Light; and Chocolate: Riches from the Rainforest, which was a Texas Bluebonnet Master List selection. A painter as well as a writer, he lives with his wife in Chicago. Robert MacKenzie has worked as a concept and visual development artist on such films as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Shrek 2, and Ice Age: The Meltdown. He lives in New York City.