The CROW –  family Corvidae

There’s a delightful children’s book of wonder about the Crow called Little Black Crow by Chris Raschka, published in 2010.

The story is narrated by a little boy who sits on a fence and asks the little black Crow a total of 27 questions about all kinds of things… like Where do you go in the cold white snow? –  Where do you fly in the stormy sky? – How do you sleep in the forest so deep? – Whom do you love in the clouds above? – Do you ever wonder about stars you see?

The Crow itself seems to enjoy the boy’s questions as it flies, lands, perches and, I think, even smiles!

What we learn from the interaction of the little black Crow and the little boy is that the wonder and curiosity of both creatures and children is forever remarkably similar.    

But what is the real tweet-tweet on the Crow in real-life?  Here are a few little tidbits to pass along to your kids and grandkids to combine literature and life:

– Crows are all-black in color, even their legs, feet and bill.

– Crows flap their wings rather than glide and are distinguished by their hoarse CAW sound.

– Crows thrive around people and are found where people hang out… towns, cities, athletic fields, parking lots and even garbage dumps.  Crows also live in woodlands, trees and fields.

– Crows are very social with each other and are rarely found alone.  Crows actually live in extended family groups.  Crows also hang out together in gigantic groups, called flocks.  Some estimates indicate that up to a million Crows have congregated in the same flock!

– A group of Crows is also known as a Murder of Crows… probably because they are scavengers who consider dead things tasty (but some say the term Murder comes from the fact that Crows will mercy-kill a dying Crow).

– Crows also congregate in large communal numbers, called roosts, to sleep… mostly in fall and winter and less so during breeding season in March.

– Male and female Crows generally mate for life.

– A female Crow will sit all day on her nest of eggs or nestlings.  The male Crow brings food to the female… mostly insects, earthworms, seeds, fruit, mice, terrestrial invertebrates, birds’ eggs, snakes, small animals and pickings from dead animals.  Crows often dip their food in water to moisten it.

– Crows are known to store food by burying it and are meticulous about hiding it in grass, leaves, trees or anywhere safe.

– A Crow’s enemies are hawks, horned-owls and raccoons… because these creatures are out to eat it.

– Crows are very intelligent and inquisitive.

Ah.  The Crow in real-life.  Combining literature and life makes reading so much more special.

Reading Little Black Crow with your kids and grandkids, with knowledge of the Crow as a real-life bird, gives you so much to discuss… and your kids so much to think about as they embrace the literature.

The curious little boy in the story seems especially interested in knowing if the little black Crow ever wonders about little boys.  Well, we get our answer from real-life Crows.  Yes!

Little Black Crow gives us a great opportunity to talk with our kids about creatures… and what these creatures wonder about, too.  Just like real-life kids.

Join me here each day in August for AUGUST TWEET-TWEETS on 365 Days of Literacy for Kids! A little fun, a little learning and a bit of “tweet-tweet”!