Fly, Cherokee, Fly: A Boy, a Bird, and a Dream

Fly, Cherokee, Fly #1

by Chris d'Lacey, Simon Shepherd (Narrator)

What do you do with an injured pigeon? A racing bird that may never fly again?

Everyone thinks she should be put out of her misery. Who wants a crock with a broken wing? Darryl, that's who. He's never had a pet, and he's desperate to keep her.

But just when the battle appears to be won, a far more menacing struggle begins. Someone has the knowledge to separate Darryl from his pigeon forever, unless Darryl does exactly what he's told...

Genres: Animals

Audio Cassette

First published July 2, 1998

About the author

He was born in Valetta, Malta, but as a child moved first to Leicester and then to Bolton. After gaining a degree in biology from the University of York, he returned to Leicester and got a job at the University of Leicester in their Pre-Clinical Sciences department.
Originally his writing was confined to songs and he didn't turn to fiction until he was 32. His first piece of work was a 250,000 word story about polar bears for his wife, Jay, to accompany a stuffed polar bear he had bought her as a Christmas present.
He didn't write another story for seven years, until he heard about a competition to write a story for young children with a prize of £2,000. The resulting book, A Hole at the Pole, also about polar bears, didn't win - but he sent it off to a publisher, who accepted it.
His first children's novel, Fly, Cherokee, Fly, was published in 1998 and subsequently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It was inspired by the time he found an injured pigeon in Victoria Park and nursed it back to health at home. It became a family pet and lived for 14 years in a birdbox attached to the back of the house. All of its offspring were given the names of different Native American tribes, which is where the title of the book comes from.)
He has since written over twenty children's books, including Pawnee Warrior (a sequel to Fly, Cherokee, Fly), a collaborative novel with fellow children's author Linda Newbery (From E To You), and the best-selling, award-winning The Last Dragon Chronicles. His books often contain environmental themes, and events based on things that have happened to him.
In July 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester for his contributions to children's literature. Although writing is now his main source of income, he still works at the university as the operator of the confocal microscope.
His favourite children's books are the Paddington Bear series and The Hobbit, and his favourite children's authors are Allan Ahlberg and Roald Dahl. Chris D'Lacey has written many books like Ice Fire and Fire Star, but his most famous book was Dark Fire, the fifth book in The Last Dragon Chronicles.

Reviews

[Sharonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, simple and fast read. You learn a little about pigeon racing which is interesting. Good characters that keep you invested in the story like the friendship between Darryl and Garry. I felt the relationship between Darryl and his pigeon could have been expanded upon, however.

[Willen P · Rating 3 out of 5]

The character wasn't as likeable as the one in "Horace", but I enjoyed this tale. It was humorous, emotional and educational too.

I'm not the biggest fan of pigeons either, but this story stirred me.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this children's book, it was shortlisted for The Carnegie and its a beautiful story of a boy who saves a pigeon with great voice and characters - masterful!

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the last year I have read about a dozen books by Chris d'Lacey and have really enjoyed most of them. His three series about dragons are amazing. The Prompter, was an excellent read. But I was not sure how he would make a story about pigeons interesting, and yet he managed to do it. In fact I was late coming back from lunch at work because I just could not put the book down.

This is the story about a young boy named Darryl who finds an injured bird in the park. He soon finds out that it was a racing pigeon And also that it has a broken wing. With a little pleading and a little back up from dad, they convince his mom to give him a shot at more responsibility and he is allowed to keep the bird and nurse it. Soon he and his best friend Gareth (Garry) have not only nursed it back to health but have become armature bird enthusiast.

But things are not all roses and sunshine. Soon Darryl is being blackmailed with the threat of his pigeon Cherokee being taken away from him. He is struggling to keep something he loves and does not know how to get out from under pressure he is under. Sometimes fortune and misfortune arise from the same instances and what seems terrible might be the turning point for young Darryl.

This story is really well written. It captures childhood in an interesting light. It snapshots that pivotal point where a child goes from caring about themselves to really caring about another living creature. It captures friendship with peers and with unexpected people. It is really interesting watching Darryl grow and mature throughout the novel.

This book is a little ahead of my son's reading level, but I told him about it today and he really wants me to read it to him. And to be honest sharing books with my kids is one of my favourite things. We have already read a number of them as a family and enjoy d'Lacey's writing greatly.

As mentioned earlier it was a hard book to put down, and is still readily available in both print and eBook formats. There is also a follow up novel called Pawnee Warrior, If it is anywhere near as good as this volume it will be worth tracking down (and my copy has been shipped).

This was another awesome read by Chris d'Lacey. With every book of his I read I am more impressed. A great little read, thank you Chris.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Chris d'Lacey.

[Read2review · Rating 5 out of 5]

** For the full review please check out www.read2review.com **


I became a fan of Chris D’Lacey’s work after reading his ‘The Last Dragon Chronicles’; these will be reviewed later on the site so please keep a look out for them. I had seen advertisements for Fly, Cherokee, Fly within the other D’Lacey books I had read and so looked into getting myself a copy.

The story is about a Darryl who adopts a racing pigeon and the adventure they go on to make Cherokee better and help her to fly again. Throughout the story it is unsure if Cherokee will be able to stay with Darryl as the school bully’s father is Cherokee’s rightful owner. However Darryl is aware that the owner will kill a bird that can’t fly or race so he works hard to keep him.

The story that Darryl and Cherokee go through in this story is a very touching one and I felt completely swept up in the story. There is a second book about Darryl and Cherokee, Pawnee Warrior, which I am hoping to read before the end of the year.

Chris D’Lacey is one of my favourite authors and I can’t wait to read more work by him.

I give Fly, Cherokee, Fly 4.5/5

**Read More At: http://read2review.com/our-reviews/c/...

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

** For my full review please check out http://backofthebookreviews.com/ **

An incredible little book about courage, loyalty and overcoming your difficulties. I have given it a 4 because it brought up some memories of being bullied myself. It was brilliantly written and was very hard to put down.

[Elly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew this wasn't meant for my age range, but it's by my favourite author, and so I had to give it a shot. This was an adorable little book, and although I definitely prefer his larger series, I really did enjoy it. An easy, heartwarming read.

[Toby Chan]

nice one, about a boy taking care of a pigeon.