Crick, Crack, Crow!
by Janet Lord; illus. by Julie Paschkis
Preschool, Primary    Quinlin/Peachtree    32 pp.
8/24    9781682636299    $18.99
e-book ed.  9781682637418    $11.99

A mischievous crow spends his day getting into and out of trouble. He steals a button, bullies some songbirds, snatches a cat’s kibble—and he’s just getting started. Each double-page spread is devoted to one of Crow’s antics; taken all together, his busy day demonstrates a broad array of documented crow behaviors. Lord’s text rollicks along with the avian mischief, variations on the titular phrase acting as a refrain. In one scene Crow hops on a peanut-jar lid and slides down a barn’s roof: “He steps onto the lid and pushes off the edge. / Crick, crack, WHOA! / Slippery as snow! / Crow rides his sled to the edge of the roof / and flutter-flaps to the ground. Nice ride!” Paschkis’s ink and gouache paintings incorporate her signature folk art–like details, embellishing flowers’ petals and birds’ feathers with stylized designs not found in nature. But not Crow—­rendered in an inky black with little-to-no individuation of feathers, his matte form draws the eye with its textural simplicity. Young listeners will notice that Crow’s exploits lead him into ever greater danger, until he finds himself facing a massive hawk. Happily, one crow behavior is “mobbing” (the term is introduced in the back matter), and with the aid of his friends and family, Crow drives the hawk away before settling for the night. Clever, fun, and informative.

From the ">September/October 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.