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Crow Not Crow
Tells the story of a child's first birding expedition on a golden autumn day.
36 pages, Hardcover
First published August 28, 2018
1 person is currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Jane Yolen
971 books3,232 followersJane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
October 22, 2018
I've been doing some reading lately about the ways people who are not regularly exposed to nature have become blind to the differences in the denizens of the natural world, unable to tell the difference between animals and plants. Yolen's book strikes a friendly blow against this blindness by telling the story of a young girl who learns to differentiate between birds by first learning to identify crows. It's a simple story, told poetically, that also serves as a perfect introduction to birdwatching.
Notes on representation: The little girl and her father appear to be Asian.
Notes on representation: The little girl and her father appear to be Asian.
February 9, 2020
A really lovely book .
A wonderful introduction to bird watching and identification.
The illustrations are appealing and attractive.
The added bird identification guide in the back is a lovely extra and the free bird I'd app details too.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A wonderful introduction to bird watching and identification.
The illustrations are appealing and attractive.
The added bird identification guide in the back is a lovely extra and the free bird I'd app details too.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
April 25, 2018
How DO you tell one black bird from another?? Young bird-watchers, and a lot of older ones, will benefit from this gentle story about a father helping a daughter to identify birds around her.
Lovely illustrations and helpful tips and a reassuring story.
This would be a great book for a classroom or story time especially with the wide pages and large illustrations My family have always been bird-watchers and I'm often astonished at the numbers of people who simply don't know the names of common birds and this is a great way to start children looking at the creatures around them.
Lovely illustrations and helpful tips and a reassuring story.
This would be a great book for a classroom or story time especially with the wide pages and large illustrations My family have always been bird-watchers and I'm often astonished at the numbers of people who simply don't know the names of common birds and this is a great way to start children looking at the creatures around them.
March 2, 2019
A great way to introduce birding to children. This book teaches them how to look at birds and note the details so that identifications can be made. It starts with the simple classification of Crow or Not Crow, comparing the crow to several.other black birds during a walk between a father and daughter.
September 19, 2020
A wonderful and accessible introduction to birding and being a naturalist in general.
November 20, 2019
As someone who loves nature, birds, and birdwatching/birding, this is a book after my own heart!
“Crow Not Crow” tells the story of a father beginning to teach his young daughter to love and identify the many types of birds surrounding their home. In doing this, the girl and her father compare every bird they see to the American crow. This book has lovely illustrations and its text is easy for children ages 6+ to read. I especially love the bird identifications in the back of this book.
“Crow Not Crow” is an excellent book to spark young readers’ interest in birds.
Note: I received this book from its publisher via BookSirens in exchange for my honest review, for which I am very grateful.
“Crow Not Crow” tells the story of a father beginning to teach his young daughter to love and identify the many types of birds surrounding their home. In doing this, the girl and her father compare every bird they see to the American crow. This book has lovely illustrations and its text is easy for children ages 6+ to read. I especially love the bird identifications in the back of this book.
“Crow Not Crow” is an excellent book to spark young readers’ interest in birds.
Note: I received this book from its publisher via BookSirens in exchange for my honest review, for which I am very grateful.
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July 14, 2021Great concept. Immediately started playing this game on walks.
October 1, 2019
A lovely introduction into birding using the method developed by co-author Adam Stemple to teach his city-bred wife to bird. Crow not crow helps develope the the reader a desire to see, really see. The mother-son writing team allows us to follow a father-daughter team on the daughter's first birding adventure.
Elizabeth Dulemba, who dreamed of flying herself, illustrates this beautiful world.
Elizabeth Dulemba, who dreamed of flying herself, illustrates this beautiful world.
October 11, 2018
I liked this quiet father-daughter outing to bird watch. The title is the method they use--"Crow not Crow" is new to me and it makes delightful sense. Yolen and her son, Adam Stemple, wrote this book together. Her husband/his father, David Stemple, was a well-known bird recordist who taught his family how to identify birds. Adam invented the "Crow not Crow" method of teaching bird identification for his beginning birder wife (city girl) how to identify birds.
The illustrations carry the story gently with a lush softness of color and nature. Some of the closely-seen birds are beautifully/accurately illustrated. There is also a bit of humor and fun--for instance the two page spread with ants the size of mice giving us the daughter's perspective as she learns to look through the binoculars.
At the end of the book there is a wonderful 4 pages with photos and identifying paragraphs of the birds seen in the book. Accompanying each photo is a QR code to be used with the BIRD QR free book companion app created especially for Crow Not Crow and other books from the Cornell Lab Publishing Group. Enjoy!
My dad taught me a love of bird watching too. We grew up with bird books, his binoculars, and when my parents retired to south Florida, visits were delightful learning all the wetland and shore birds. I live in South Florida now and treasure my own bird watching along with the many memories of bird watching and learning with my dad.
The illustrations carry the story gently with a lush softness of color and nature. Some of the closely-seen birds are beautifully/accurately illustrated. There is also a bit of humor and fun--for instance the two page spread with ants the size of mice giving us the daughter's perspective as she learns to look through the binoculars.
At the end of the book there is a wonderful 4 pages with photos and identifying paragraphs of the birds seen in the book. Accompanying each photo is a QR code to be used with the BIRD QR free book companion app created especially for Crow Not Crow and other books from the Cornell Lab Publishing Group. Enjoy!
My dad taught me a love of bird watching too. We grew up with bird books, his binoculars, and when my parents retired to south Florida, visits were delightful learning all the wetland and shore birds. I live in South Florida now and treasure my own bird watching along with the many memories of bird watching and learning with my dad.
February 22, 2019
When children know how to name the things they see in the world around them, it can be an important part of understanding how they fit into that world. Birds can be robins, crows, chickadees, or many other types. A picture book by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple, Crow Not Crow helps young readers understand the role of observance in learning how to identify and name the myriad birds they are likely to see in their daily lives.
In the book, a young girl goes birding with her dad. She brings along child-size binoculars to help her see birds up close. Her dad teaches her to identify a crow by looking at its size and the color of its feathers, beak, eyes, and feet. When they encounter other birds on their outing, the dad asks the girl to determine if the new bird is a crow or not, simply by observing. It’s a great way to introduce the concepts of birding.
Illustrations by Elizabeth Dulemba show many different types of birds and various environments where they can be found. A guide at the back of the book gives detailed information about crows and all the other birds depicted on the pages of the books. There’s also a free book companion app, Bird QR, created specifically for Crow Not Crow and other books from the publisher where readers can listen to bird calls and learn more.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
In the book, a young girl goes birding with her dad. She brings along child-size binoculars to help her see birds up close. Her dad teaches her to identify a crow by looking at its size and the color of its feathers, beak, eyes, and feet. When they encounter other birds on their outing, the dad asks the girl to determine if the new bird is a crow or not, simply by observing. It’s a great way to introduce the concepts of birding.
Illustrations by Elizabeth Dulemba show many different types of birds and various environments where they can be found. A guide at the back of the book gives detailed information about crows and all the other birds depicted on the pages of the books. There’s also a free book companion app, Bird QR, created specifically for Crow Not Crow and other books from the publisher where readers can listen to bird calls and learn more.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
January 24, 2019
This is a really sweet and endearing take on an activity that many probably have not truly considered. I mean, we've all seen birds, but I know I haven't given an extreme look at them except for in 9th grade Biology class. The book teaches kids (and adults!) the "Crow, not Crow" method - where you look at birds and only decide whether they are a crow or not a crow, noting the differences between the mystery bird and a crow. Yolen and Stemple create a story of a young girl going out with her dad to learn how to watch birds, showing the loving bond between the two as the girl learns a family hobby. Dulemba fills the book with beautiful full-page spreads, showing us all the wonder in the nature that is found, clearly showing the warmth and love that the father and the daughter share. I loved that the birds are depicted accurately, with information and photos in the back of the book. There are also QR codes that you can use to find the bird calls and more information. This book is truly a masterpiece and I think families will love to read this book and look for birds together. *Please note I received a free review copy of this book
March 6, 2019
Guest post by Jane
HERE
I love gardening, flowers and birds... I kill 75% of what I garden. I buy WAY to many flowers from Hobby Lobby. And there are only two birds that I feel confident in identifying: a hummingbird and a crow.
Crow Not Crow was a sweet, simple introduction to the world of birding through the endearing perspective of a father-daughter outing.The simplicity and joy of identifying birds in nature was just great. I loved Crow Not Crow as a mother, as a birding novice and as a teacher.
This is the perfect book to use for a STEM science lesson for the classroom or even as an interactive library lesson for small group discussions. Once you finish the story, the last 5 pages are filled with bird facts and QR codes!
There are two QR codes for each bird discussed. One takes you to specific bird facts and another plays the call of the bird. It's really neat and exciting to listen to the different sounds and connect the image of the bird to the sound.
Highly recommend for ages 4-7. And I will be donating my copy to my sons' school library!
I love gardening, flowers and birds... I kill 75% of what I garden. I buy WAY to many flowers from Hobby Lobby. And there are only two birds that I feel confident in identifying: a hummingbird and a crow.
Crow Not Crow was a sweet, simple introduction to the world of birding through the endearing perspective of a father-daughter outing.The simplicity and joy of identifying birds in nature was just great. I loved Crow Not Crow as a mother, as a birding novice and as a teacher.
This is the perfect book to use for a STEM science lesson for the classroom or even as an interactive library lesson for small group discussions. Once you finish the story, the last 5 pages are filled with bird facts and QR codes!
There are two QR codes for each bird discussed. One takes you to specific bird facts and another plays the call of the bird. It's really neat and exciting to listen to the different sounds and connect the image of the bird to the sound.
Highly recommend for ages 4-7. And I will be donating my copy to my sons' school library!
December 15, 2018
Depicting a father-daughter birding experience, Jane Yolen and her son Adam Stemple deftly share both a simple nature identification technique and the joy of passing a love for nature on to a child. Lovely illustrations by Elizabeth Dulemba bring life to the story. Back matter includes identification and behavioral characteristics, both useful and entertaining. Additional digital content is made available through QR codes.
June 17, 2019
This was not as helpful as I had hoped. I can see how for absolute beginners, asking if any bird is a crow, and articulating why not, might be helpful. This book suggests doing that and models it a small bit. I wish the author had taken it further. It is nice, though, just to see a tale of birding pitched to the preschool set.
December 7, 2018
Always looking for beautiful teaching books for children and found this one that taught me! I love crows and this book sets forth a simple method to learn to identify birds...beginning with crows...perfect!
December 10, 2018
Interesting method for truly learning to see and identify birds. Makes jumping into a new arena of knowledge less intimidating. Kudos.
December 11, 2018
This is a nicely illustrated, beautiful book, created from the actual bird watching technique of crow not crow, thought up by the author's son. Bird facts and pictures on the back pages of the book.
February 8, 2019
Simple story about learning how to look at birds and notice differences. Great STEM content. Will inspire kids to learn more about birds. Great back matter. Highly recommended for ages 4-6.
November 29, 2019
What I Loved: This book focuses on bird watching with a daughter and father. I loved that this past-time is clearly something that the father and daughter get to do together. Bird watching was a new concept to my daughter and she enjoyed the daughter learning from her father…Crow? Not Crow.
How I Felt: Bird watching is not something that my family spends time doing, so I wasn’t sure how my daughter would react to the book. She was fully invested, though! The writing was engaging and had my daughter inspecting each bird on the page to see the differences described by the daughter and father. The illustrations were perfect, allowing for that long-look to be rewarded by seeing those differences.
To Read or Not To Read: This is a great book for any child! It is easy to understand and follow and even has a section in the back to show real images of the different birds as well as a little blurb about each one. This would be a great classroom book!
What’s This Book About Anyway?
A father and his daughter go out on their first bird watching adventure. She guesses at the types of birds saying “Crow?”. The Father will then respond with “Not Crow” and explain the differences in the birds. It is a great introduction to bird watching for a child. The child can be interactive during the reading by also looking for the differences!
I received an advanced readers copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.
All of my reviews can be found at: https://shejustlovesbooks.com/
How I Felt: Bird watching is not something that my family spends time doing, so I wasn’t sure how my daughter would react to the book. She was fully invested, though! The writing was engaging and had my daughter inspecting each bird on the page to see the differences described by the daughter and father. The illustrations were perfect, allowing for that long-look to be rewarded by seeing those differences.
To Read or Not To Read: This is a great book for any child! It is easy to understand and follow and even has a section in the back to show real images of the different birds as well as a little blurb about each one. This would be a great classroom book!
What’s This Book About Anyway?
A father and his daughter go out on their first bird watching adventure. She guesses at the types of birds saying “Crow?”. The Father will then respond with “Not Crow” and explain the differences in the birds. It is a great introduction to bird watching for a child. The child can be interactive during the reading by also looking for the differences!
I received an advanced readers copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.
All of my reviews can be found at: https://shejustlovesbooks.com/
December 16, 2020
A little girl goes out birding with her father for the first time, wondering if she'll ever be as good as her older brothers are at identifying birds. Her dad uses a special method to start teaching her about how to look at birds and what to look for. They spend some time watching a crow and he asks her to describe what she sees and hears, then they use the crow as a basis of comparison as they encounter other birds. Crow? Other birds may share some features, but not all of the ones that mean "crow." They play Crow, not crow until they return home again. The girl is excited about their next birding adventure - maybe she'll learn another bird!
The illustrations clearly depict the different species of crows and not crows, and a section at the end gives brief descriptions of all the birds mentioned/depicted in the book as well as QR codes which can be used to listen to their songs and learn more about them (a special app may be needed for these - I couldn't get them to work just by scanning them with my phone - URLs didn't go anywhere). This was published by the Cornell Lab Publishing Group, which knows their birds, and also promotes their free Merlin Bird ID app. A great introduction to birding - I love this method!
The illustrations clearly depict the different species of crows and not crows, and a section at the end gives brief descriptions of all the birds mentioned/depicted in the book as well as QR codes which can be used to listen to their songs and learn more about them (a special app may be needed for these - I couldn't get them to work just by scanning them with my phone - URLs didn't go anywhere). This was published by the Cornell Lab Publishing Group, which knows their birds, and also promotes their free Merlin Bird ID app. A great introduction to birding - I love this method!
February 26, 2020
A wonderful story of a father spending time with his daughter introducing birdwatching. There are several ways that Jane Yolen spins this story into something more. Her father teachers her to be observant so that she notices specifics and can use those specifics to identify a crow. From there they look at other birds and use her knowledge of identifying a crow to determine that other birds are not a crow. The daughter now can confidently say Crow or Not Crow and know there will be future birding with her father using the same method to build on her skills. Elizabeth O. Dulemba's colourful illustrations not only in the story but the mini field guide at the back and an opportunity to use QR codes to hear the different birds make this a stand out addition to libraries and classrooms.
October 28, 2019
This is a wonderful book about a father teaching his son how to go birding. There are pages in the back of the book of "Not Crows". You might find yourself looking up in the sky or in a tree for crow not crows more often now. Fun times for one and all.
Dad took the boy birding. His brothers loved birding. All he could see were birds. His dad showed him a crow. He looked at it a long time. So very big it is with black wings. It's also has black legs, beak, and eyes. The next bird he saw had red medalians. "Not Crow". I'll let you listen/read the rest to find out what else he saw. Happy Reading.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Dad took the boy birding. His brothers loved birding. All he could see were birds. His dad showed him a crow. He looked at it a long time. So very big it is with black wings. It's also has black legs, beak, and eyes. The next bird he saw had red medalians. "Not Crow". I'll let you listen/read the rest to find out what else he saw. Happy Reading.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
February 11, 2021
I signed up for the crow course at Cornell and am enjoying it. I want to share something from the course. After an eternity of librarian-ing, starting as a children's librarian, when a book, even a kid's book, is mentioned, I must immediately see the book. So when Jane Yolen's CROW NOT CROW was brought up, I found a copy in the Clevnet system and ordered it.
This is a delightful look at a dad taking his daughter out birding for the first time and teaching her to "see." It starts with a crow, and simply shows what is and isn't a crow. No more, no less. I like it, and in the back are references to the other birds in the book and links to Cornell.
This is a delightful look at a dad taking his daughter out birding for the first time and teaching her to "see." It starts with a crow, and simply shows what is and isn't a crow. No more, no less. I like it, and in the back are references to the other birds in the book and links to Cornell.
September 5, 2018
Really interesting concept to introduce a child (or adult!) to the world of birding. Pick a bird. Learn that bird. Then compare it against the others you see that day. Crow or Not Crow? Cardinal or Not Cardinal? And just keep adding new ones.
The book is a little bit dry, though I think it would be good for a kid the age of the one in the story (around 6 or 7). Thank goodness the back of the book showed what all the Not-Crows were, because I was starting to go nuts wondering!
The book is a little bit dry, though I think it would be good for a kid the age of the one in the story (around 6 or 7). Thank goodness the back of the book showed what all the Not-Crows were, because I was starting to go nuts wondering!
December 5, 2018
How do you tell a crow from a starling? Or a red winged black bird from a brown headed cow bird?
When a young girl goes birdwatching with her father, she learns how to distinguish key features such as size, shape, eye color, and calls, in order to identify which birds she has found. The illustrations are beautiful and clarify each of the key field marks owned by the birds.
For a beginning bird watcher, this book has excellent back matter to help along.
When a young girl goes birdwatching with her father, she learns how to distinguish key features such as size, shape, eye color, and calls, in order to identify which birds she has found. The illustrations are beautiful and clarify each of the key field marks owned by the birds.
For a beginning bird watcher, this book has excellent back matter to help along.
September 24, 2018
I really liked this book. I thought it was a good read for students who around 2nd or 3rd grade. It shows that to learn something you need to really pay attention and differentiate certain characteristics. Although all birds seem the same to us they are all different just like humans. I thought this story had a really good message over all.
December 30, 2019
Somewhat reminiscent of Jane Yolen's Owl Moon, the story follows a girl and her father as she goes birding with him for the first time. She has very simple tasks at first--to learn to distinguish crows from other black birds--but looks forward to future bird-identifying excursions. Sweet father-daughter relationship comes through in the story.
June 23, 2022
Not about crows, but about learning to be a birder in particular, and developing one's observational abilities in general.
But otoh the back matter is about crows and not crows. And the book is published by Cornell Lab, makers of Merlin and lots of other good stuff for birds and people who love them.
Excellent story and resource.
But otoh the back matter is about crows and not crows. And the book is published by Cornell Lab, makers of Merlin and lots of other good stuff for birds and people who love them.
Excellent story and resource.
October 16, 2019
I received a free copy of this book from BookSirens to review.
I loved this introduction to birding. It encourages the reader to really look closely, and provides a way for children to step into the wonderful world of birds. The information at the back is interesting as well.
I loved this introduction to birding. It encourages the reader to really look closely, and provides a way for children to step into the wonderful world of birds. The information at the back is interesting as well.
February 13, 2020
A very sweet book about a father who takes his daughter out bird watching.
They start by recognizing a crow. Beautiful illustrations.
I received this review cooy for free in exchange for an honest review.
They start by recognizing a crow. Beautiful illustrations.
I received this review cooy for free in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews