Rhyming poetry by Thor Hanson would enchant any reader of any age and be easy to memorize; hand-drawn illustrations from Dana Arnim capture a rather subdued, natural sensibility. In my lifetime I've had only two general biology classes: one in HS and one at university, so I don't know much, but I understand at least some critters have evolved an ability of species recognition that means they know one when of "their own kind" faces them. The first sentence sets the overall scene as it tells us:"Bartholomew Quill was a crow long ago, when all of the world was new,"
so possibly this book about Bartholomew Quill the Crow tells us a little about the processes of both self-recognition and other-recognition? This could lead to rich discussions about physical traits and behavioral tendencies of household pets, birds on the feeder, critters at the zoo, human classmates and assorted family members.
Cover of the bound book features the exact same artwork and text as the dust jacket, something that's not always the case. I love that both front and back endpapers feature small sketches of all the critters in the book.
"Get More Out Of This Book" includes ideas for Group Discussion, Group Activities, and Independent Activities. You also can get a Teacher's Guide.
my Amazon review: Bart Quill the Crow
