Clever Crow

Clever Crow

Chris Butterworth

Olivia Lomenech Gill

Walker Books, 2024

32pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9781406380330

Look out the window or go outside and it’s likely that it won’t be long before you see a crow given there are over 100 different types living in various habitats across the world, including five species that are native to Australia – he Australian Raven, Little Raven, Little Crow, Forest Raven, and the Torresian Crow.

While their all-black plumage, raucous and distinctive call, and rhythmic wing-flapping make them easy to distinguish, what sets them apart from other bird species is their intelligence – the term “birdbrain” cannot be applied to them – and it is their cleverness that is the focus of this new addition to the popular Nature Storybooks series. They are able to solve problems, use tools, remember where they have stashed food, play and even know to flick cane toads over to avoid eating their poisonous parts.

The Nature Storybook series is a brilliant way to introduce young readers to the wonders of the world around them, using easily accessible text that combines storytelling and information, accompanied by illustrations that bring the subject to life, and this one is no different.  From its beginning with one endpaper that shows the difference in the eggs of some of the more common crow species and ending with another that shows what hatches from those eggs, Clever Crow will not only teach young readers about this common bird, but give them a new respect for them.