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LITTLE BLACK CROW by Chris Raschka Kirkus Star

LITTLE BLACK CROW

by Chris Raschka & illustrated by Chris Raschka

Pub Date: Aug. 31st, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-689-84601-4
Publisher: Richard Jackson/Atheneum

Reminiscent of Christopher Myers’s Black Cat (1999), but set in a rural rather than an urban setting, a lyrical text muses about the daily life of the titular little black crow. “Little black crow, / where do you go? // Where do you go / in the cold white snow?” opens the text, which then follows the crow through many different scenes. Framed by title-page and final-page illustrations of a boy sitting on a post-and-rail fence, the rest of the illustrations focus on the crow in different settings and interacting with various creatures; at one point the boy looks up at the crow from a distance and asks, “Little black crow / in that tall tree, / are you a boy like me?” Raschka demonstrates his Caldecott-winning mastery with controlled use of color, ample white space and expressive lines that suggest setting and deftly provide characterization with the slightest of brushstrokes. With palette, composition and mood evocative of the Japanese masters, the fluid watercolors establish a serene background for the inky crow. This quiet book that positions the child as a curious observer of the natural world is a little picture-book gem. (Picture book. 4-8)