A brilliant tribute to curiosity, kindness, and the intelligence of a much-maligned bird.
A true story about a girl, a flock of crows, and the treasures that pass between them.
When pale-skinned young Gabi leaves snacks outside her Puget Sound home, the clever crows take notice—and begin leaving gifts in return, from earrings and buttons to a “pearl-colored heart.” Sterer braids two threads with real skill: the friendship that unfolds between Gabi and the crows and richly researched interludes about these birds. Strickland reflects this dual structure with two distinct visual registers. Depicting red rain boots, blossoming trees, and more, spreads glow in airy watercolor and gouache, channeling the spirit of Winnie-the-Pooh illustrator E.H. Shepard, whom Strickland cites as inspiration. The fact-based pages shift to a sepia-toned palette rendered in ink linework that evokes a field notebook. One standout is a double-page family tree: a single spreading tree marked with more than a dozen crows, its branches threaded with hand-lettered banners about their complex habits, which include serving as lookouts for one another, observing funerals, and forging lifelong bonds. This page's design makes abundantly clear the book’s central idea: “To be a crow is to be part of a great family.” Story and science illuminate each other so that by the final spreads, when we see the gifts raining from the sky, wonder and information have become the same thing. Author’s and illustrator’s notes offer more information on the real-life Gabi Mann, a young Seattle girl who in 2011 began befriending crows in her neighborhood.
A brilliant tribute to curiosity, kindness, and the intelligence of a much-maligned bird. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
ISBN: 9780063237582
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
PERSPECTIVES
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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