Clever Crow

by Chris Butterworth, Olivia Lomenech Gill (Illustrator)

Overview

For young bird-watchers and enthusiasts of the natural world comes a beautiful, eye-opening picture book about the familiar but ever-surprising crow.

Crows may not have flashy feathers, beautiful songs, or fancy flying skills, but if a crow looks at you with its small, round eye, you can be sure that it’s thinking, as these birds have very big brains. Did you know that crows will use a stick to poke into a crevice to tease out tasty bugs? Or that they like to play like kids by tumbling down a snowy roof? Or that they remember where they hide their food—but sometimes only pretend to bury a treat to fool other birds? Original and accessible, with Chris Butterworth’s welcoming text and gorgeous, expressive artwork from Olivia Lomenech Gill, Clever Crow is sure to generate newfound respect for these unassuming creatures that young readers come across every day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536235425
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	07/09/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.94(w) x 10.94(h) x 0.34(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Chris Butterworth is the author of Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea, illustrated by John Lawrence, The Things That I LOVE about TREES, illustrated by Charlotte Voake, See What a Seal Can Do, illustrated by Kate Nelms, and How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? The Story of Food, illustrated Lucia Gaggiotti. Chris Butterworth lives in Cornwall, England.

Olivia Lomenech Gill is the illustrator of Where My Wellies Take Me by Michael and Clare Morpurgo, which was short-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal, as well as Michael Morpurgo’s Muck and Magic and J. K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Olivia Lomenech Gill lives in Brittany, France.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/27/2024

“Wherever you are right now,” Butterworth opens in this engaging look at corvids, “there’s sure to be a crow or two nearby.” In the first of many beautifully drafted spreads whose layers of textural variation complement their muted palette, Gill crams humankind’s built environments into a single space. Since crows live “across the world,” the Eiffel Tower rubs shoulders with domed edifices and pyramids loom in the distance. Following a series of spreads that list things crows don’t do (“Crows are not fancy fliers”), the conversation shifts to what distinguishes these remarkable birds (“If a crow looks at you with its small, round eye, you can be sure it’s thinking”). Noting that crows use tools, can trick other birds when stashing food, and know how to play, this assemblage of corvid portraits form a stately, intelligent survey of crow types. Ages 3–7. (July)

Publishers Weekly

2024-04-05
An admiring tribute to the habits and smarts of the corvid clan.

Gill’s standout mixed-media illustrations feature individual and group portraits of numerous crows and crow cousins, stylishly rendered in fine, exact detail. These visuals, along with a gallery of eggs, will draw the eye first, but young audiences will find Butterworth’s rapturous observations, delivered in multiple sizes of type, likewise worth lingering over. “If a crow looks at you with its small, round eye, you can be sure it’s thinking,” she writes. “Crows are clever birds. Very clever birds.” If she sells them rather short by characterizing them as “not…graceful to look at or lovely to listen to,” she does suggest that, considering their canny problem-solving and tool-using skills, they’re as intelligent as monkeys and apes. She urges readers to find out for themselves just how bright they are; given that they live all around the world in many habitats, they’re particularly easy to find and study. (And, she notes, the crow family contains more than 100 different kinds of birds.) “Crows are smart, clever, crafty, and playful,” she closes, “just like you!”

Brief but as lively and appealing as its subject. (index) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews