Fly, Cherokee, Fly

Format:	Paperback 192 pages

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Synopsis

I lifted Cherokee up to the sky. She cocked her head at the passing clouds, her dark blue neck feathers ruffling in the breeze. I could feel the beat of her heart in my hands and her warm toes scratching against my skin. I waited for an upward gust of wind and then, slowly, I parted my hands. Fly, I whispered. Cherokee! Fly! And she was gone...When Darryl discovers a homing pigeon with a broken wing in the park, he manages to persuade his parents to let him keep it - and suddenly he has a new and captivating hobby. If he can help the pigeon - Cherokee - learn to fly again, maybe he could even race her! There's just one problem: Cherokee's original owner. Will he want her back? As the bird courageously fights past the broken wing to fly again, Darryl is also to need every ounce of his own courage - to stand firm against a bully, whose threats could lead to Darryl's losing Cherokee for ever...

Book details

Published
04/02/2002

Publisher
Corgi Childrens

ISBN
9780552547895

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UK Kirkus review

Chris d'Lacey was deservedly highly commended for the Carnegie Medal for this excellent novel aimed at 8 to 11-year-olds. It is narrated in the first person by Darryl, Dazza to his mates, in a totally convincing voice. Children will instantly recognize themselves and their problems in Darryl's world. Out playing football with Garry he retrieves the ball and finds more than he bargains for: a pigeon both injured and ill. When he tries to pick her up she makes a wooing cry and her 'copper eye' blinks. He is overwhelmed with tenderness and decides he'll nurse her back to health. In this multi-layered tale Darryl faces up to his mum's opposition to him having a pet and the realization that not everything that's broken can be fixed. Warren Spiggott and his gang target Darryl, who fears they'll overpower him and take Cherokee. But as the tension rises there are numerous laugh-out-loud moments, some provided by Gary's witty commentary and others by the gruff Alf, who introduces Cherokee to a past-his-prime but still very attractive pigeon, Gregory Peck. Gregory has a surprising amount of 'go' left in him and manages to father two eggs. In prose all the stronger for being straightforward and accessible, d'Lacey deals with complex emotional issues and provides an excellent model for young writers to emulate. (Kirkus UK)