cover image The Naughty Crow

The Naughty Crow

Irina Hale. Margaret K. McElderry Books, $14.95 (1pp) ISBN 978-0-689-50546-1

Hale's innocuous picture book, based on a story told her by her uncle, concerns Constantine and his sister, Marina, who live in turn-of-the-century Kiev. At their summer home in the country, they find an injured crow and christen it Cra-Cra. As it grows strong and healthy, Cra-Cra begins to follow the children everywhere. But Cra-Cra, less than an ideal pet, wreaks havoc wherever he goes--he knocks over inkwells, pilfers jewelry and destroys a birthday party. Mamma and Papa banish the crow to the deepest part of the forest, but it makes its way back and reinsinuates itself into the family . . . until the next household debacle. Despite its nostalgic sweetness--or perhaps because of it--the tale stays rather flat. The ink-and-watercolor artwork, however, combines delicate lines with intensified hues: the effect is less of studied naivete than of spontaneous whimsy. Ages 5-9. (Sept.)