Six Crows by Leo Lionni: A Review of Five Tulips
Posted by Breeze on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 11:21 amCategory: Breeze
Tulip and I picked this book out in our typical, judge-a-book-by-its-cover way during this morning’s library trip because we liked the look of the crows on the cover, and we are both pleased with our selection. What could be better than an engaging children’s book that also teaches an excellent lesson? In the story, a farmer, frustrated with the crows who are eating his wheat, builds increasingly frightening scarecrows. The crows respond by making increasingly threatening kites (the bird, not the toy). The wise owl, watching the wheat wilt in the field while everyone is busy with the “arms race,” suggests that peace talks might be in order. The angry farmer thinks that it’s too late for talking, but the owl assures him that “it’s never too late to talk things over” because “words can do magic.” I can’t think of any lesson that I’d rather see children internalize.
As a matter of fact, I’m working this story into a lesson I’ll be teaching at our ethical society’s children’s activity in a couple of months. I’ll outline the lesson more thoroughly in another post, but this book has certainly earned it’s place of honor as the central story in the lesson. Because I loved this story so much, I’m thinking about getting Teaching with Favorite Leo Lionni Books to give me ideas for the next time it’s my turn to lead the children’s activity in our group.
