ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Messenger pigeon extraordinaire Cher Ami gets her due in this lovingly crafted account of the avian WWI hero. The book's opening folk-style, pastoral scenes quickly transition to a military camp, where Cher Ami and other pigeons are taken and trained by the U.S. Army to carry notes between soldiers and their commanders. On one such flight, Cher Ami withstands a bullet wound to deliver a message that saves the lives of nearly 200 soldiers. Portrayed with rust-colored bars across her pale wings, the pigeon is easy for readers to spot on the page, where they'll also enjoy learning about how homing pigeons are trained. The author creates a real sense of drama when Cher Ami performs her famous flight act made all the more suspenseful by the dynamic illustrations. Notes from the author and illustrator offer more details about WWI and the avian hero, including the parts of this story that were fictionalized or modified; source notes are also included. An uplifting piece of history that children will love.

Horn Book (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

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. Melisande 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. Martha V. Parravano

Kirkus Reviews

A fresh tribute to the renowned avian wounded warrior.Admitting in an afterword that she's invented details to fill out the "legend," the author recounts in simple language how the eponymous homing pigeon was trained to carry messages from the front during the First World War and, despite enduring wounds, most famously delivered one that saved almost 200 U.S. doughboys from friendly fire. Her daughter Giselle invents details, too-starting with depicting the bird as much more brightly colored and patterned than she actually was (which does have the effect of making her stand out on the page and among other pigeons) and, in a bit of revisionist history, portraying American soldiers both on and behind the line of battle in racially integrated units. Though similar to Robert Burleigh's Fly, Cher Ami, Fly (2008, illustrated by Robert Mackenzie) both in the factual embroidery and in the manufactured quality of some of the drama ("Each boom and bang was deafening. Cher Ami was not afraid."), this does tell the tale in a more complete way by including the feathered messenger's subsequent doctoring and artificial leg in the main narrative rather than relegating it to a small-type appendix. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A tale worth the telling, though the artistic license is considerably overstretched. (source list) (Informational picture book. 7-9)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

First-time mother-daughter collaborators Mélisande and Giselle Potter recount the true story of a homing pigeon named Cher Ami in this WWI-focused picture book, per an author’s note “a blend of truth and legend.” Beginning with the bird’s life on an English farm and subsequent call to duty, the book walks through her intensive training regimen and arrival as a messenger in France for the United States Army, whose service members are largely portrayed as white. The story’s dramatic climax arrives when the injured bird completes a 25-mile mid-battle flight, “alone like a little boat in a big, dark sea,” to transport an urgent, life-saving message. Vivid prose voices the pigeon’s imagined experience: “She would not give up! Her whole body ached as she tried to lift her wings.” Presented in watercolor and ink with mottled brown wings and a luminescent throat, Cher Ami makes for a handsomely anthropomorphized heroine; her ordeal, as sympathetically captured by the creators, provides a bird’s-eye view of war’s realities. Creators’ notes and sources conclude. Ages 6–9. (May)

School Library Journal (Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Gr 14 Cher Ami is a war hero who also happens to be a pigeon. With thoughtful illustrations and sensitive text, this work offers younger students a glimpse of what life was like for soldiers in World War I and the dangers they faced in the trenches. It's also a thorough history lesson, explaining the training methods for homing pigeons, entertaining readers with the mostly true story of a very brave pigeon, and the soldiers who loved her. With war as the backdrop, there is suspense that may be unsettling for some children, but students from about second grade on will adore the story of Cher Ami. The illustrations authentically convey the emotions of soldiers on the battlefield without being overly frightening. The author's notes are as interesting as the story itself, so remind readers not to skip those. VERDICT For animal lovers or budding historians, this book is sure to be a hit with young readers. Darby Wallace