Sandra, a young girl from a small northern community, is forced to leave everything she knows behind when the loss of her father's job brings them to the city.

Finding the city a lonely place, Sandra seeks solace at the river which runs through it, where she befriends a pelican. When "Pelly," as she calls the pelican, remains after his flock flies south, Sandra's ingenuity is put to the test as she struggles to keep him alive through the long prairie winter.

Pelly combines the story of a pelican's battle to survive a harsh environment with that of a solitary girl who finds strength and friendship through her nurturing of the wild animal. In this entertaining, compelling novel, Dave Glaze introduces a determined young heroine who is certain to captivate.