Cher Ami: Based on the World War I Legend of the Fearless Pigeon
by Mélisande Potter; illus. by Giselle Potter
Primary    Ottaviano/Little, Brown    40 pp.    g
5/22    978-0-316-33534-8    $18.99

This “blend of truth and legend” tells the story of Cher Ami, one of hundreds of homing pigeons who in WWI acted as messengers for the U.S. Army. Sent to the front lines in France, she completed twelve dangerous missions, including one in which she was badly wounded but managed to fly twenty-five miles through enemy gunfire, delivering a message that was instrumental in saving the lives of 194 soldiers. Mélisande Potter’s text is concise, dramatic, and compelling, entirely matched by Giselle Potter’s art—evocative watercolors that convey setting beautifully while always keeping the valiant pigeon center stage. True, it’s unlikely that Cher Ami actually marched in formation alongside her human-soldier counterparts, or that she ever wore the tiny wooden leg carved for her when she lost her own leg carrying out her final mission—but it makes for very good theater, and informative closing notes from both author and artist separate fact from speculation. (One interesting fact: Cher Ami was at the time assumed to be a male pigeon but was discovered to be female after her death.) Also appended with an extensive list of sources.

From the May/June 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.