I AM WE! (A Crow's Eye View of Unity)

I can't help myself... here's another amazing picture book about BIRDS! 

CHRONICLE BOOKS, 2025

I AM WE: How Crows Come Together to Survive is written by Leslie Barnard Booth and illustrated by Alexandra Finkeldey.  In case you missed some of my former posts about the brilliance and appeal of birds, feel free to click on a few to read HERE, HERE, HERE, or HERE. 

Using first person voice, CROW voices a personal account of  exactly what I AM WE means. The text is a lyrical, sometimes rhymed revelation of the life-facts of crows. Language rich in onomatopoeia and rhythmic flow swoops across the pages to explore the intelligence, behaviors, and social dynamics of individuals, family groups, and flocks. 

It is the perfect time of year to share this, since the most intense flocking begins at summer's end  ago and persists through Fall and Winter until early spring nesting resumes.The reasons for that are made clear, with subtlety and surety. Both rural and urban flocking is described, revealing benefits for both habitats. 

The illustrations are superbly suited to the tone and details, darkly extending a sense of urgency and intensity across the pages. Flocking happens at night, and these wing-sprawling, bright-eyed birds seem both elegant and intimidating but are vulnerable within nature's food chain. Their interactivity and the beneficial effects of flocking may seem self-evident in a few cases, the the combination of visual and narrative storytelling draws readers into the lives of crows, in this case, AMERICA CROWS, among the most common variety. 

If you are looking for a seasonal, slightly suspenseful, moody picture book to share in a read aloud during this fall season, give this one a try. It will offer just-right intensity and a suspenseful tone while sharing important facts about a species and its evolutionary patterns. A huge bonus, while reading, is a growing awareness of something I have said often and will say again. Birds, especially Crows and others black birds, are remarkably intelligent and worthy of respect and attention. Calling someone a "birdbrain" simply reveals ignorance of those facts. I AM WE helps make that point clear.