A moody, poetic study of a brilliant yet oft-misunderstood creature.
What’s it like to be a crow?
Many regard corvids as harbingers of doom—a stereotype that belies their rich sense of community. As this fascinating and edifying work notes, crows look out for each other by traveling in groups and are intensely aware of their surroundings; indeed, they have more going on than your average bird. Narrated in the collective first person by a murder of crows (“I am not I at all”), Barnard Booth’s verse flows beautifully, slinking across the page with a determination that mirrors the intentionality of her feathered subjects: “I spill across the sky like ink— / fill the night with jagged cries. / I have one thousand eyes. / I see all. / Know all. / Am all.” Finkeldey’s inky art depicts landscapes both urban and rural, set against backdrops of deep grays, blues, blacks, and orangey pinks, providing close-ups of individual animals, along with breathtaking aerial shots of the crows resting on a sturdy tree. On a particularly inspired and entirely unexpected spread, several crows dissolve into a cape worn by a cackling figure in a pointed hat: “Caw-caaaaw! / We must sound like witches to you.” Both text and art set an intriguingly ominous tone even as the book establishes crows’ commitment to cooperation and communal living; readers will eagerly dive into the generous backmatter.
A moody, poetic study of a brilliant yet oft-misunderstood creature. (further information on crows, author’s note, sources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9781797226156
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer.
Rotner follows up her celebrations of spring and autumn with this look at all things winter.
Beginning with the signs that winter is coming—bare trees, shorter days, colder temperatures—Rotner eases readers into the season. People light fires and sing songs on the solstice, trees and plants stop growing, and shadows grow long. Ice starts to form on bodies of water and windows. When the snow flies, the fun begins—bundle up and then build forts, make snowballs and snowmen (with eyebrows!), sled, ski (nordic is pictured), skate, snowshoe, snowboard, drink hot chocolate. Animals adapt to the cold as well. “Birds grow more feathers” (there’s nothing about fluffing and air insulation) and mammals, more hair. They have to search for food, and Rotner discusses how many make or find shelter, slow down, hibernate, or go underground or underwater to stay warm. One page talks about celebrating holidays with lights and decorations. The photos show a lit menorah, an outdoor deciduous tree covered in huge Christmas bulbs, a girl next to a Chinese dragon head, a boy with lit luminarias, and some fireworks. The final spread shows signs of the season’s shift to spring. Rotner’s photos, as always, are a big draw. The children are a marvelous mix of cultures and races, and all show their clear delight with winter.
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3976-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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