Two Crows

On a dark November day, a murder of crows slowly grows two by two. As the crows gather, they make plenty of noise and scare off any other animal that dares approach.

Using rhyming text and well-constructed verse, the poem does a good job of setting the scene and describing the crows’ antics. The lines and verses are short, making the text more approachable for young readers. This is a good thing as the text, itself, will likely be challenging for preschoolers to decipher due to the presence of rare words (such as “sway”, “tottering”, and scouring”) and unusual sentence structure. At times, the use of “it” renders the subject of a phrase initially unclear.

The occasional use of “twa” in place of “two” calls back to the book’s inspiration, a Gaelic tune called Twa Corbies. While the reference is charming, this feels like a nod to adult readers possibly at the expense of younger ones’ comprehension. That being said, this wording could serve as a discussion starter about vernacular used around the world and in international literature.

The copyright page does not indicate the mediums used for the artwork, but it appears to use a number of different forms such as watercolour and ink. The illustrations set a moody scene, pairing well with the grey November day described in the text. While the illustrations fit the text well, the artwork may prove less than engaging for some readers.

On each spread, the text is located on the left-hand side and accompanied by a number of crows congruent with the stanza. The right-hand side features a framed illustration reflecting not only the content of the poem but also a secondary plotline. As the crows gather, readers also observe a person walking a yellow dog. After the dog wanders away, the person is seen searching for them. The last spread depicts the dog returning home to its relieved human.

An atmospheric poem with a mathematical bent.