Kevin McCloskey, who teaches illustration at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, learned about pigeons from Vinnie Torre, one of Hoboken's last pigeon racers. He dedicated this book to his children, even if his daughter is a little skittish on the subject since a flock of pigeons descended on the family during a visit to London's Trafalgar Square. He says he considered painting the pictures here on roofing material (because pigeons flock to roofs) but settled instead for painting on a pigeon-blue Fabriano paper, the kind used by Picasso.