Crowbar: The Smartest Bird in the World

When a young boy discovers a baby crow, lonely and abandoned, he’s sure it won’t survive on its own. He burrows it in his shirt and carries it home. As the days pass, the fledgling gains strength. He names it Crowbar, despite his grandpa’s insistence that “a crowbar is a tool, not a bird.” The boy teaches it to say “hello” and vows to prove his grandpa wrong about crows – that, indeed, they’re intelligent creatures. To his delight, his feathered friend stays around long enough to do just that, and before he finds his freedom in the skies, he caws a final goodbye.

This is a touching story based on the life of a real crow the Newberry Medal-winning author, Jean Craighead George, and her children raised. Youth will find this fascinating and will be able to relate to the boy’s love for this often underrated fowl and his eagerness to save it.

The text is laced with humor. The grandfather’s grumpy disposition will spark laughter. To him, “crows are thrives” and unworthy of anyone’s favor. His attitude transforms, though, which, along with Crowbar’s progress and eventual independence, make for a meaningful and heartwarming read for children ages five to nine.