Luke isn't very happy at school. Being a bit of a loner, he doesn't make friends easily, and his favourite place to be is at his grandad's house where he goes each day after school. He and his grandad are very close, and they share a big interest in homing pigeons - a loft-full of which grandad has. Each afternoon Luke helps feed the birds and lets them out for their fly around. When Luke must give a talk at school, he is worried. Giving talks is not his thing, but when he decides that talking about the pigeons is a possibility, he is happier. His talk goes very well and his classmates ask lots of good questions and are really interested. For the first time, Luke actually enjoys school. But grandad is not well. It is Luke who discovers him, grey and shivering, and when mum comes home, she sends for an ambulance. It becomes apparent that grandad is very ill indeed, and in the end, mum and Luke bring him home from the hospital so he can die amongst the things he knows and loves. Luke brings two of his pigeons into the house, so grandad can hold and stroke them, and he dies peacefully. When Luke releases the pigeons for their evening fly around, he whispers to himself, 'Happy flight, grandad.' We realise that Luke is beginning to make friends at school, and that his new home with the pigeons and his mum in grandad's old house is going to be a happy place for him. For a short book with large print and sensitive black and white illustrations, this manages to pack in a lot of emotional detail. Luke's relationships with his grandad and his single mum are very believable, and the pigeons are an important part of a life that has not been particularly fulfilling up to this point. Very good for older children who aren't particularly good readers.