Little Crow to the Rescue / El Cuervito al rescate - Hardcover

Victor Villaseñor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1558854304 ISBN 13: 9781558854307

Publisher: Arte Publico Press, 2005

Synopsis

"When his father teaches him to beware of the tricky human beings, who try to hit birds with rocks, Little Crow shares an idea which causes all the crows to proclaim him a genius and alters their future."

About this title

About the Author

VICTOR VILLASEÑOR is the author of two bilingual picture books for children, The Frog and His Friends Save Humanity / La rana y sus amigos salvan a la humanidad and Mother Fox and Mr. Coyote / Mamá Zorra y don Coyote. He is also the author of numerous acclaimed titles for adults, including Burro Genius: A Memoir (Rayo, 2004); Macho (Arte Público Press, 2003), which was chosen by the New York Public Library for its distinguished list of Books for the Teen Age; Walking Stars (Piñata Books, 2003); Thirteen Senses (Harper-Collins, 2001); Rain of Gold (Arte Público Press, 1991); and the non-fiction Jury: The People vs. Juan Corona (Little, Brown, and Company, 1977). He is also the writer of screenplays, most notably the award-winning The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez.

FELIPE UGALDE ALCÁNTARA was born in Mexico City in 1962. He studied Graphic Communication at the National School of Art in Mexico’s National University, where he later taught an illustration workshop. He has been an illustrator and designer for children’s books, textbooks, and educational games for fifteen years. He has taught illustration workshops for children and professionals, and has participated in several exhibitions in Mexico and abroad.

Reviews

Grade 2-4–In this traditional tale, recounted by a father to his son, a crow warns his offspring about the treachery of humankind. He explains that, despite all that they have learned about survival from animals in the wild, humans cannot be trusted to remember the debt they owe to them. As Father Crow lectures on, he warns the youngster against letting a farmer who has bent down and picked up a rock get close enough to throw it. Little Crow draws his own conclusions. It would be wise, he tells his father, if the birds were to fly away any time they spot people. To this day, a flock of birds will take to the sky rather than let a human stray too close. The story comes full circle with the man explaining, So, you see mijo, this is why you can never catch a crow. The English and Spanish texts are presented on the same page, separated by a small picture. Both texts are grammatically correct and well crafted. The colorful stylized illustrations resemble patchwork quilts or stained glass.
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PreS-Gr. 3. Villasenor shares a childhood story, passed down from his great-grandfather. A boy tries to catch the crows eating the chicken feed, but the birds always take wing. The boy's father tells of a father crow and his son, perched at the side of a cornfield. Father Crow tells Little Crow that, despite crows' love for humans, people show little affection in return. Father Crow's advice: fly away if you ever see a human pick up a rock. Although Little Crow watches and learns from his father, he adds his own spin to his father's advice. Alcantara's intensely colored, stylized art shows a natural world full of bright sunlight, richly shadowed crow feathers, and backgrounds with subtle layers of color. The Spanish translation is thoughtfully done, appropriately colloquial, and resembles the English in its pacing. The text isn't particularly lyrical in either language; the book's strength lies in its traditional origins, its striking illustrations, and the overall message that, occasionally, children can teach their parents a thing or two. Julie Kline
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Arte Publico Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1558854304
• ISBN 13: 9781558854307
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Felipe Ugalde Alcántara
• Number of pages: 32