All is explained in the uplifting one-word message joyfully delivered by the pigeon to the sketch artist (Macaulay himself?) shown at work in the last scene of the book. We are so swept up in the homing pigeon's divergent path-marked on the black-and-white vistas by a thin red line-that we momentarily forget she has a task at talon. Macaulay's intricately crosshatched pen-and-ink images of Rome-with its ancient amphitheater, Colosseum, Temple of Hercules, elaborate fountains, and bustling cafes (with a feast of crumbs for a travel-weary pigeon)-provide a dazzling display of architectural finery. The effect is a kaleidoscope of whirling, swooping, dizzying images that must resemble flight itself. She soars quickly and follows an old road, which (of course) leads to Rome." So begins Caldecott Medal-winning artist David Macaulay's visually festive journey that tracks the whimsical flight of a homing pigeon through the archways, over the terra-cotta rooftops, and between the columns of this most ancient and vibrant city: "Instead of traveling directly to her destination, which is standard pigeon procedure, she decides to take the scenic route." Macaulay's angle of vision pans back and forth between the pigeon's-eye view and that of a roaming cinematographer. "Somewhere in the Italian hills, a homing pigeon is released.
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