Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Starting with the three crows on the cover, wearing velvety (feel them!) red-and-white striped shirts, children are in for a counting frenzy. Numbers from 1 to 12 go up and down, back and forth, as the whimsical birds scratch and flutter, hop and hunt, and peck, poke, and prance. Young counters will be delighted by how the active crows with definite personalities leave their nest and tree in search of snacks. Illustrated in stunning black-and-white pencil art (with the aforementioned red-and-white touches), the drawings pop out from the stark white backgrounds. Children can caw and cack, cackle and grack, along with the crows, following the rhyming text throughout. When the black-feathered avians sing and crowd onto a park bench, wing to wing, a ferocious feline arrives. Scared by the cat, they fly off. A red polka-dotted scarf slips off one to then appear tied smugly around the neck of the predator cat, licking her disappointed paws as she calls, Bye, crows, bye! Something to crow about!--Gepson, Lolly Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Writing a fresh counting rhyme calls for the poet to hear the numbers in a new way, and that's just what Appelt (When Otis Courted Mama) has done. She tweaks sequences, varies rhythms, and punctuates her lines with piquant sound words: "One, two, three/ crows in a tree./ Three roly-poly bugs,/ three ripe mangoes./ Three for the counting crows./ Three, by jango!" Dunlavey's (The Dandelion's Tale) inquisitive black crows are all beaks and legs, with loose-fitting red-and-white-striped sweaters; one fashion renegade wears a polka-dotted scarf. Their eyes bug out as they peer at unfamiliar objects: "Ten crunchy crickets,/ ten green peppers./ Ten for the counting crows./ Yep, yep, yeppers!" The crows' black beaks and red stripes stand out against the white pages, giving the spreads a crisp, pared-down appearance. By contrast, the trees, telephones poles, trash baskets, and other background features are rendered in delicate, gracefully elaborated pencil lines. When a cat materializes beneath a park bench, the startled birds depart in small groups, and Dunlavey's final images add a note of quiet reflection to this clever, innovative creation. Ages 3-7. Agency: Pippin Properties. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-This book features a murder of crows (well, a dozen) and rhyming text. The pattern is set for counting the birds ("One, two, three/crows in a tree./Three roly-poly bugs, /three ripe mangoes./Three for the counting crows./Three, by jango!"). The poetry bounces along nicely until number 11, when the pattern changes to accommodate the rhyme. "One, two, three, four,/five, six, seven.../eight.../nine.../ten...eleven!" A cat comes along after 12 crows are introduced, and the birds fly off in their original groups. The text is accompanied by stylized sketchbook-type pencil drawings enhanced digitally with dark red stripes on the crows' shirts and one crow's scarf. The scrawny, playful birds do crowlike things, such as sit in a nest or on a telephone line and scavenge for food. The book features lots of white space and large, easy-to-read lettering. Children will enjoy counting the birds and their various food items. This simple story is a good storytime read-aloud if readers pay attention to the meter.-Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In clever rhyming text, an increasing number of crows clad in red-and-white-striped shirts gobble up a variety of tasty foods, all of which can be counted, providing many basic-math lessons. Pencil illustrations enhanced with digitally rendered reds contain plenty of details to pore over. Unfortunately, the book is marred by some visual flaws (e.g., the text mentions peas, the art shows peapods). (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A lively and original addition to the overstuffed genre of counting picture books. The titular birds are clad in baggy red-striped sweaters and scarves and engage in playful activities: tumbling through the air, larking around in a tree, filching bugs and fruit, scavenging peanuts, plums, ants and crackers, and finally taking flight from a predatory cat. The illustrations capture the humorous character of this amusing bird; the cawing and crunching are almost audible as the crows descend en masse upon an inviting trash bin and rifle through its delectable contents. Appelt's rhyming couplets are lively and onomatopoeic: "Nine little spicy ants, / nine round crackers. / Nine for the counting crows. / Nine, by smackers!" This is a real counting fest, as not only the crows, but the food they collectberries, bugs and snacksare fodder for the counting game and for improving reading skills at the same time. Dunlavey's two-color illustrations in marker, pencil and watercolor have a refreshingly casual feel. The unusual typeface is well-chosen for this zany production, and it is sized and positioned with care in perfect relation to the illustrations. The book is attractively produced, with several different textured laminations on the cover, including cool fuzzy stripes for the crows' sweaters. Beginning readers will just fly through their numbers. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
