Fly High Fly Low
by Don Freeman
“Fly High Fly Low” by Don Freeman. Published by Penguin. A beautiful story with breathtaking views of the city of San Francisco in California of a pair of pigeons making a home and then making another one.
Sid the pigeon was very choosy when it came to finding the right place to make his home in the city of San Francisco. He found it in the lower loop of a huge B in the electric sign of a skyscraper hotel building. The other birds could not understand what the fuss was all about. The view from up there was marvellous. But was that the only reason for him to select it as a home? Every morning Sid along with the all other birds in the city would flock to Union Square Park to peck their breakfast. Mr. Hi Lee, a kind man, would throw out crumbs of bread from his large paper sack for them. Sometimes he would also get a day old cake crumbs from a nearby bakery as a treat.
Sid asked the lovely white feathered dove Midge to share his home and she agreed. They built a nest in the billboard and the other birds were shocked by that as it was quite unusual. One day when Sid had gone for his breakfast, Midge stayed back to take care of the nest in which she had laid two eggs. The billboard was taken apart and some men decided to take extra care of the letter B as they found Midge and her nest. They drove off with the the billboard on a truck. Sid was shocked when he came back to find that his home was gone and Midge couldn’t be found anywhere.
What happened next? Did Sid find Midge again? Where had Midge been taken? Were their eggs safe? What could be done now? Could Mr.Hi Lee be of any help? Read the gorgeously illustrated book to know all of this. The book won the Caldecott Medal of Honour in 1958 for its illustrations.
My almost eight year old has loved reading this book for three years now. We bought this just before a trip to San Francisco. He looked forward to seeing the sights mentioned in the book. In fact, we ended up visiting the Union Square Park thanks to the book. He was looking for Mr. Hi Lee there :) We loved the reasoning behind Sid choosing the lower loop of the letter “B” as his home and not some other letter. Most of the iconic sights and attractions of San Francisco have been captured fabulously by Don Freeman’s coloured pencil sketches. We loved the spread of the Golden Gate Bridge. His more famous book, “Corduroy” has been an eternal favourite at our home.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 5/6+.
Reasons to Read
The book gives a bird’s eye view of the iconic sights and attractions of San Francisco through the charming story and illustrations.
Children will enjoy getting to know the reasoning behind Sid choosing the letter B for his home.