Saturday, November 6, 2010

Six Crows by Leo Lionni

The farmer wants the wheat, the crows want the wheat.  And, soon, neither one of them is getting any...

Alfred A Knopf Books for Young Readers is republishing this classic story by Leo Lionni.  They graciously sent me a copy for review.  I love this story teller and illustrator so I was very happy to get it.  This new edition is now available in your local bookstore.  It's written for ages 4-8.

Mr. Lionni brings his story to life with collages, and he does beautiful work.  His words are minimal, but his message gets across easily and is just as applicable now as it was when originally published in 1988.

The crows are bothering his wheat, so he puts up a scarecrow.  The birds create a bird kite with leaves to scare the farmer.  So he makes a better scarecrow and they make a bigger kite.  In the meantime, the wheat is dying in the field.  Despite all the planning on both sides, they cannot find a solution to their problem.  So the owl tells the farmer he needs to talk with the crows and find a way to work out their differences.  (The world would be a better a place if more people tried doing that.)

It's sad that Mr. Lionni died in 1999, but it is wonderful to see his work available again.

Get yourself a copy of this classic story and share his knowledge about "working together" with your children.  It's well worth the read.

Happy reading!

No comments:

Drag and Rex Forever Friends by Susan Lubner

Meet Drag and Rex, the sweet, silly best friends who find joy and adventure in the simplest places in this charming and cheery modern Frog a...