Le pigeon Vaillant

Vaillant lives peacefully with his family in a beautiful dovecote in Picardy. But war breaks out, and Vaillant becomes a soldier-pigeon, tasked with flying over the battlefields to deliver vital messages. And when his fort at Verdun comes under attack from all sides by the Germans, it falls to him – the last surviving pigeon – to sound the alarm and save the soldiers. Will Vaillant succeed in this difficult mission?

Jean-Michel Derex, who holds a PhD in history, specialises in environmental history and the evolution of the relationship between humans and nature. His publications include *Héros oubliés* (Forgotten Heroes), the first illustrated book on the history of animals during the Great War.

Available in French only