This week, our friends at the Tenderloin Geographic Society invite you to join them as they take a journey through the magical world of books. Specifically, books written for children on the subject of the great city of San Francisco and our majestic, marginalized pigeon population. Follow along, and don't worry, we'll tell you when to turn the pages:

By: The Tenderloin Geographic Society

Of all the creatures of this green earth, perhaps none exerts such a hold on the imagination as the pigeon. Omnipresent in the sky and underfoot, this elegant avian missile occupies a special place for urbanites and children's book authors alike.

You may already be familiar with Mo Williams' excellent books about Pigeon ("Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus," et al.), wherein Pigeon could be a thinly-veiled metaphor for any number of politicians.

But let us turn to other more personal matters, to gentrification and the struggle to achieve the American Dream in prosperous boomtime San Francisco. It's a love story, about pigeons who want to raise children in the big city, and the message is as poignant today as it was when Don Freeman's "Fly High, Fly Low" was first published in 1957.
And it's not political at all, really. [Next page!]

Although published over half a century ago, many contemporary readers will identify with the struggles of Sid, a typography-loving pigeon with a keen eye for aesthetics. His taste in roosts catches the fancy of a white dove named Midge. His desirable apartment in a bohemian neighborhood makes him quite a catch. They move in together. In time, eggs are laid. [Next page!]

Sadly, predictably, the neighborhood becomes popular. Developers move in, and everything that they had loved begins changing around them. [Next page!] The economy takes a turn for the worse, and Sid the pigeon turns against the city that once welcomed him with crumbs and warmth. Who can he blame now? [Next page!]

But Sid remembers the one who was there for him, who seemed a stalwart amidst the corrupt humans. Mr. Lee, the kindly Chinese man who has been of service to him and pigeon-kind. Surely he will make everything better! [Next page!]

It was so much better to be in a warm pocket, taken care of, than to be in the cold of a San Francisco night. Don’t you want to be warm inside someone’s pocket? [Next page!]

In the spirit of Reading Rainbow, you'll have to read the book yourself to find out what happens. Don't you hope it has a happy ending?

The Tenderloin Geographic Society is San Francisco's home for amateur ornithology, avian rescue services and children's literature since 2006. Stay tuned for the Tenderloin Report. If you've missed any episodes, you can always catch up here.