"Fly With Wounded Wings" is about a wounded, ostracized Canada goose who is left behind by her flock. She makes friends with an unlikely crow companion, who along with his raven brethren, teach her the winter survival instincts of the corvids. Fans of Richard Adams' "Watership Down" will love the allegorical slant of corporate life brought into this avifaunal world. Lovers of birds will also learn much about these amazing, intelligent creatures.Over 30 illustrations by the author. Foreword by Tippi Hedren. Peter Gullerud was born in Wisconsin. He is the creator of several comic books including "Grootlore," "Cutter," and "Sugar and Snails." He studied theology for a brief period. Later he became a visual development designer in feature animated films for both Disney and Warner Brothers. After 20 years in the studios, he left animation to do hands-on wildlife work with creatures like the Siberian tiger and the California bear. He... More > currently lives in Pine Mountain, CA, year round. This is his first novel.< Less
Fly With Wounded Wings is a book for anyone who has deep friendships or who has suffered injury, loss or defeat. This lovely book uses vividly described scenes of migrating birds and their animal (and human) friends and enemies as a metaphor for life and survival. Brilliantly illustrated by the Author, who is one of the most talented artists in America, "Fly With Wounded Wings" is a book to be read and reread. You will not only remember Cora and her friends, but feel that you are flying with them in their journeys.
What a great story! A mix of loyalty and teamwork, with the plain joy of being alive, combined with messages that motivated me to see with more compassion and understanding. This is one of those books whose characters you carry joyfully and lovingly with you long after you finish it. I finished reading it weeks ago and still keep thinking of the animals helping each other survive a winter in Alaska. The reader sees how hard it is for species to survive on Earth. And yet somehow they find a way. Peter, I read in your intro how the original publishers wanted you to take human hunters out of the story, but you knew you had to leave them in. I am so glad you did. It would not have had the same powerful, true message had you eliminated the impact that people have on animals or the clever ways they know to circumvent us. Thank you, thank you Peter, for putting down your heart in writing. And thank you to my friend Kari (see her review below) for making me aware of this book. I have since... More > forwarded a copy of the book to my friend Gail. I know she will love it, too, and tell another friend, and so on.< Less
Hi Peter! I just wanted to let you know I was finally able to start reading and completed 'Fly with Wounded Wings'. I am so glad you stood your ground to have the book published in line with your original artistic vision. As you can probably tell by all of my fb posts, I'm an animal lover from way back, and your story gave me a glimpse into a beautiful and often hidden world. The few days it took me to read, I would dream of birds every night. I would dream of them coming and landing on my outstretched arms, and even of taking flight with them. I believe your book brought me closer to our feathered brethren, and I wanted to say thank you for that, and for you story.
This book is absolutely fantastic ....wonderful for young adults and quite the fun read for adults. The character development of each is really well done and is captivating. I love the lacings of nature information that are interwoven so carefully throughout the story. The general technical knowledge appears to have been well researched and thought out adding to the story in a very natural way. Once I dove into this book it was finished in two days...stayed up late and carried it with me opening at every idle moment. The story kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was to happen to these characters next. The writing skill of this book shines as well from the imagination of the story ...to cleverness in dialogs with a beauty in the author’s use of words, at times seemingly poetry. There is an artful transitioning and zeroing in upon the personality of each character in lessons and questions of friendship, loneliness, morality, love, acceptance, understanding, sharing, and... More > growth, with life and death issues part and parcel. This is an invitation to view these personalities, that are quite familiar to human experience, through the magic wide angle lens of this author's imagination. While reading one can be given to pause in the realization that much is occurring simultaneously and is often interconnected directly or indirectly, akin to real life experience. This is an important lesson for the young as they are learning their actions extend, i.e. have impact, outside of themselves. And to read between the lines one is left with a knowing that, at one time or another, all must learn to 'fly with broken wings.' What an stupendous film this could be. I can see it now...animations of each of these characters coming to life, lifting in flight from the pages of the book amidst swirling skies of color. All this in the amazing illustrative style honed by Peter Gullerud.< Less
