Crow Boy

Written by Taro Yashima

Narrated by Ned Hoopes

A small boy, who is different from the others, gains acceptance when he imitates the voices of crows in the school talent show.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Weston Woods
• Release date: Jan 1, 1971
• ISBN: 9780545257879

Reviews for Crow Boy

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A lovely picture book about a boy who didn't connect with anyone over five years of school until a new teacher paid attention to who he'd been all along.

[skaide1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

In response to Taro Yashima's book, "Crow Boy," I have mixed messages as to whether or not I found this book one of my better reads. I think the central message of this work is a crucial aspect to make clear, especially in today's society. The central message was that having differences are okay, and everyone is special in their own particular way. I also believe that this book was trying to give a sense of disability awareness, and in my opinion, I give the author much credit as it is a sensitive subject to write and bring about, especially in a classroom of youngsters. What confused me was the particular difference that the main character in "Crow Boy" obtains. Right from the beginning he is portrayed as an unusually quiet, funny acting type of kid. So naturally, I imagined his peculiar way of acting was due to a special need or disability of some sort. What boggled my mind was the ending! The boy was acting differently, and mocking crows, all due to his sense of isolation from where he lived. He lived father than all the other school children, and lived among many crows. I could see someone being isolated in school due to this situation, but I do not particularly believe that this promotes disability awareness. Overall, I thought the book was smooth sailing but didn't close the case, per say, by the end of the book, and therefore this book was not one of my favorites.

[jmitra1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One thing Crow Boy does well is show its readers that Crow Boy isn't a bad person, but he is just a different person. Another strength of this book is how easily students will be able to compare the lives of the characters in the book to rural and suburban life in the United States. The book fosters some excellent talking points but may feel a little dated.

[e1ob · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Crow boy is about a young boy that comes to school and was not really every excepted in his class. He was left alone during school for many years and picked on. It wasn't until his last year in class that a new teacher had provided him a little extra attention to talk to him and learn about him. At the end of a book Crow boy enters the talent show, everyone makes fun as him until they realize that he has a very special talent. His talent is that he can speak just like the crows that fly above. He had learned this sounds from his walk to school early in the morning and on his way home. This book as a good lesson in it on that you should not judge someone before you know them.

[evandy1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

 I really liked this book because it had a good moral to the story. Nobody gave the boy a chance because he was unusual and the children at school didn’t know anyone like him. However, when they realized his background and he unique talents they began to accept him and befriend him. This taught readers to not judge a book by its cover and to always give people a chance. Another thing that stood out for me in the book was that the only person who believed in the boy was his teacher and in some cases the only strong mentor and role model in a child’s life is their teacher. As a future teacher, this stood out to me because being that strong of an impact on a child is a big deal and teachers should always try to see the best in all of their students. I thought the pictures in this book were detailed and realistic which gave it a strong story and also the clear and powerful message really stood out.

[perihan_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Chibi was a boy, who hid underneath the schoolhouse floor. No one knew much about him, but they called him Chibi, it meant tiny boy. Chibi was afraid of his teacher and classmates, so he never spoke until a new teacher Mr. Isobe became his teacher. Mr. Isobe took great interest in Chibi, gave him attention he needed, spent time talking with him. With Mr. Chibi’s encouragement, Chibi appeared on the stage for talent show. He imitated the voices of crows. He showed the audience how the baby crows, mother crows, father crow, how crows cry in the morning, crows when they are happy. All of the listeners’ minds were taken to the far mountainside from which probably Chibi was. At the end of his show, Chibi imitate a crow on an old tree. Now the listeners could imagine exactly the far and lonely place Chibi lived. Mr. Isobe told the people how Chibi learned to imitate all the sounds. It was result of walking to school everyday for six years. After the talent show no one ever called Chibi, which meant tiny boy, instead they called him Crow Boy.

[sconne7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found the book, Crow Boy by Taro Yashima to be very interesting. The pencil sketch drawings are unique and different from most story books. I think this book also has an excellent lesson behind it to introduce to a classroom, that you do not know what someone goes through. For example, noone knew Chibi or Crow Boy on the level where they knew how far he traveled to get to school or to his house from school.

[jaimie919 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Chibi is very shy and does not have friends at. Everyone makes fun of him because he is diffrenet from the rest. After five years someone finally noticed him. His new teacher saw all the good things about Chibi and was interested. One day Chibi joined the talent show and began to imitate voices of crows! The students began to think about the lonely place Chibi came from. Everyone started to feel horrible for the way they treated him. They realized how wonderful Chibi really was! This shows children that you should never judge a person from their appearance.

[sreinh2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book. It showed many different things that children who are different experience when they are at school. They are bullied and misunderstood by others. I liked that in the book the teacher was the one who talked to the boy and get to know him for who he really was, someone who could imitate crow noises because he heard them everyday when he walked to school. This made him special and unique and the teacher saw that when no one else did. This reminded me of another book, Thank You, Mr. Falker, where the teacher is the one who sees the student for who they really are. This book also shows what someone who live in a family that works in the farms or other places that are considered lower class. This book showed that even though the main character had to walk miles and miles to get to school he used that time to learn new things about the world around him, like the crow noises. When the students finally learned where Chibi came from and who he really was, then they really accepted him.

[cbruiz_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this book, a young child attending his preliminary schooling in Japan, experiences life outside of his parent's farming community. Outcasted, isolated, on his first day, he hides under the school building, afraid of attending. From his first day up until the sixth grade, Crow Boy, dubbed such for his accurate mimicking of the different crows which encircle his long walk to school from his parents farm, he does not make a friend, except for one teacher, who see's the light inside Crow Boy, and helps bring it out accordingly. Crow Boy begins doing charcoal drawings, befriending his teacher and spending recess with him instead of alone on the school yard, where the kids antagonize him. On his last day of school, there is a talent show which he attends. At first the children all laugh at him, but his teacher introduces what talent he retains. Crow Boy shows off his charcoal drawings and mimicks the different types of crows, the children amazed at his talent, having made fun of him. After, Crow Boy went back to his parents farm and worked for them, not attending school anymore, yet on certain days he is seen at the market, selling charcoal. The artwork in this book his raw, the colors accurately depicting a mid-fifties Japan. The story is good, depicting that the quietest, and shyest of people are some of the most talented and spirited of people.

[ehopki7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book for many reasons, the biggest reason being the plot and character development. The main message of this story was not to judge a person just based on their appearance, and that everyone has unique talents that make them special. There was also an underlying theme of perseverance and the importance of education throughout the story. Even though the story unfolded over many years, the organization and pace of the story made sense and held my interest. Being written in a third person point of view resulted in a clear picture of the story, and left enough mystery and suspense to keep the reader engaged. The illustrations were done in a very interesting style which added to the mystery of the story. Taro Yashima’s word choice and descriptive language combined perfectly with the illustrations and created the perfect mood for the story. I think Crow Boy is a great book to use with students to show them the importance of getting to know a person before making judgments against them. In turn, it also showed the importance of perseverance and working towards an important goal even if the odds are against you.

[heather_hill_69 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Crow Boy is a story about a young Japanese boy, nicknamed "Chibi," which means "tiny boy" in Japanese, because he was so small. The students in his class never paid attention to him except to make fun of him. He was very quiet and kept to himself. Then, a new teacher, Mr. Isobe, brings out Chibi's true talent.I loved this story! It rings true in every culture. There is always one child who is quiet because everyone teases him/her or is not understood by the masses. This shows students that even though some children are not as proficient at some tasks, doesn't mean they are stupid. No child is stupid. They just haven't been reached yet. And the illustrations were very unique and wonderful!As an extension, I would hand out a sheet of paper with every student's name listed to each student in the classroom. Students would then be required to write one positive word beside each child's name. I would then collect those, compile the words, and give them back to the students, so that each student knows that he/she is a special and integral part of my classroom. Another extension could be to have the children show off an interesting talent during class. This way, we can recognize and appreciate each student for his or her uniqueness.

[lbrink2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like this book for several reasons. One reason why I like this book is because of the language used. The author uses language to show the readers how students feel about Crow Boy and does not leave any question about it. Another reason why I like this book is the characters. Crow Boy is a good example to students because he did not let the negativity of the students affect him. Crow Boy does not feed into these comments and say mean things back. The students at the end of the story see that they may have been wrong about Crow Boy which shows students how we may misjudge people when we first meet them. The message of this book is an important one for students of all ages. Crow Boy continued to go to school everyday even though he knew his classmates were going to be mean to him. Once he showed his talent of crow calling to everyone the other students started to see that they were wrong about Crow Boy.

[rachelpeterson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a boy who is "different" from the rest of his peers. At the end of the story he performs in his school's talent show, making different noises of crows. He then earn the name of "Crow Boy" this book is great for elementary students, it teaches us that we all have a special talent, and that everyone should be treated equally.

[ekelle8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have recently read the book The Crow Boy by Taro Yashima. In my opinion this is an amazing story for anyone to read. The story is about a misunderstood boy who everyone ignores and neglects in school. Till one year this boy gets a teacher who is very interesting in helping him out so the teacher helps the boy enter the school talent show. When the boy walked on stage everyone thought the boy was not going to do anything interesting but then the boy copied all of the noises he hears on his walk to school every day and impresses the entire school. This changes everyone’s idea of the boy and now the boy is known as the Crow Boy because of his amazing impersonation of the crows at different times of the day. Then the people in the school and the village accepted the Crow Boy for who he was. That is what happened in the story entitled Crow Boy. One reason I like the Crow boy it has a great message for the reader. The massage the book shows is the story of a young boy who was different showing his individual talents to his fellow classmates with the help of his teacher. This made his classmates notice him as a person and accept him for the individual he is. Also the Crow Boy has very easily understood illustrations that go along with the story. For example in one part of the story that talked about the Crow Boy’s long walk to school every day the story had a beautiful picture of a large hill side with the Crow Boy walking through it. The language in the story is easy to understand, but the names of the characters in the story may be hard for students to read because they are Japanese. When reading the story I noticed that the sentences were short and very easy to understand. I feel that most readers could pick up this book and sit down and enjoy reading it.

[jillsmith23 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great book to teach children about acceptance of different cultures. It is a good book for the early childhood level and elementary level.

[tburfe1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book. I think it is very unique, and really gets across the message of holding back judgment before you really know a person. The writing is clear and straightforward. The characters are relatable, but clearly described. The illustrations are different, but bring the story to life. It broadens perspective to people that differ from what we consider the norm, and allows for readers to think about their actions affect on others.

[gjchauvin504 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The moral lesson of this story is beautiful, and should be included in every classroom at the beginning of the school year. Through this lesson, the reader learns to develop an awareness for individual differences. This short story will present you with an enjoyable learning experience. I highly recommend this book for any type of reader.

[lgrube4 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book was very lovely. At first it reminded me of "Thank you Mr. Falker" because they thought Chibi was slow, and he kept to himself. I loved how towards the end of the book there was a reason for Chibi keeping to himself, and it helped him make friends. The new teacher in this book reminded me of Mr, Falker. I found it interesting how he came to school every day, even though people teased him. By keeping to himself he learned a lot about nature. No one knew his true struggle which I personally didn't realize either. I liked how at the end everyone at the school could picture where he lived on the mountain top and felt his emotion. He was dedicated about getting an education. This book taught children to never judge a book by it's cover. The illustrations were bright and simple. This book also teaches children about bullying and how it is wrong. It's a nice multicultural book and shows how the Japanese culture works especially with young children in school. The grammar in the story is easy to read and follow along with. I liked how there were a good amount of pages and not that many sentences on each page. It kept me entertained and focused.

[rata_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

a good book to discuss with a class about difference and accepting everyone's diversity. Crow Boy is a Japanese story about a boy who attends school and he is not made very wellcome by his peers. He is often made fun of because he is poor, not as quick as others to learn and more often than not he is late. There are very good reasons for these so called defiences as Crow Boy lives many miles from the school in a rural area. His parents struggle to make ends meet and cannot afford resources. However Crow Boy is very good at imitating crow bird noises and communicating with them. The teacher encourages Crow Boy to take part in a school concert where Crow Boy amazes every one with his skills.

[cscapp1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an amazing story that everyone should read. The illustrations matched the text beautifully. The text and pictures makes perfectly match the pictures like the large hill side with the Crow Boy walking through it at the beginning of the book. The text was short and easy to read. The language was not overly descriptive but the pictures drove the book home. This story was quite sad but had a happy ending because Crow Boy was accepted by his village. The message to the story was amazing. The message the book shows is the story of a young boy who was labeled and different and strange by everyone he knew. When he proved that he had a talent that no one else had he was finally accepted and people began to realize not everyone who is different is strange. I only had trouble with the names of the characters because they were in Japanese but it was not that big of a deal.

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lovely story and illustrations about a small boy who is excluded by his classmates.

[kmcpha3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion, Crow Boy is an excellent book for students because it models how and why it is important to accept everyone, despite any variation. At first, Chibi’s classmates were not accepting of his "crossed eyes" or slow ways. The students saw him different than them, describing him as "stupid" and "slowpoke". As the years of school passed by, the classmates only saw the negative features and behaviors of Chibi. Not only do I support the idea of using this book as a modeling tool, but also I think that it is very realistic since too often our society is quick to judge. Just like the classmates in the book, often people judge or make assumptions about others based off little information. The classmates only knew that Chibi was slow, didn't make friends and stared into space. Therefore, Chibi was viewed as different and didn't have high expectations. However, at the end of the book, Chibi surprised his classmates with knowing all the noises of crows. Chibi who didn't have high expectations and was "stupid" proved his classmates wrong. With that said, the central message of the book is to accept everyone because everyone has something to bring to the table, big or small. Overall, I liked this book for two reasons. First, the characters are believable. Today, there are too often students and citizens of our society that are too quick to judge a person, just like Chibi’s classmates did. Second, the book pushes readers to think about tough issues and broadens perspectives. This book pushed readers to think about acceptance and the lasting affect.

[whisper1_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Crow Boy has the name of Chibi (Little One). No one in his class has reached out to him. He is different. He walks many miles to get to school. For six years he has walked, and he noticed is called when his class realizes they have bullied a boy who walks many miles, and he has a special talent. Over the years, he carefully listened to crows, noticing their many differences of their communications.This is a story of a small boy who lives inside himself. He watches and listens, but finds it difficult to interact with others. Then, a wonderful, caring teacher introduced him to the class. He shared his special talent, and the students payed attention. He mimicked the voices of the crows from newly hatched, and the way they listen to their mother and father's voice. Crows cry when the village people are unhappy because of an accident. When others are happy, the crows are as well.He was honored for perfect attendance throughout the entire six years of walking early in the morning through sunset. Now, no one called him Chibi, he was known as Crow Boy, and he was very happy that others liked him.Written in 1955, this Caldecott award-winning book is a testimony to a teacher who made a difference. He spent many hours talking with Chibi, and became fascinated with his goodness, kindness and his connection with nature.

[librarianryan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book does not age well. For 1955 it is a great example of “own voices” but by today’s standards this book would be considered racist, ablest, and a host of other things. We do not even get to know Crow Boy’s name. Throughout the book he is called Chibi (Tiny one in Japanese), but no real name. He is the “other”. He is the silent kid in class who lives in his imagination. This book honestly makes me sad, especially as this was considered “progressive” for 1955. To me this is just, nope. It does not do well for today. For history, I get it, but I would not have this in my library today. #bannedBook

[melynnreadmond · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this storybook because of the hatched illustrations and the contents similarities to something I experienced as a child. The story is about Chibi who had a scary first day when he hid under the schoolhouse. Due to this experience, Chibi is afraid of the teacher and trying to make friends so he passes time alone. Chibi plays alone, reads alone, and does many other activities alone. Chibi and his class have a visitor, Mr. Isobe, who helps the class understand Chibi’s determination to become educated. Chibi walked many miles listening to crows as he came to and from class to get educated not to make friends or be liked by others. The hatched illustrations within the story help the reader get a sense of Chibi’s character and how the other students feel about him. Having the hatched design and dark colors until the talent show displays to the reader Chibi’s loneliness. The contents of the story help to explain to the reader that isolation and indirect bullying happens in all cultures not just here in the US. It is also relatable for me since I watched my sister get isolated from people she thought were her friends just because she didn’t change her self to fit everyone else’s stereotypical teenager mold. The big idea of this story is to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before judging them.

[bokeef2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Crow BoyBryan O'KeeffeI really had a hard time enjoying this book. Mainly because I felt the story was not good. I understand the story was simply about a boy who was special needs in a time that no help was given to them. That was extremely sad and unfortunate and really made the story believable and like this boy really existed. The illustrations were done to a mediocre standard on my part. I think that the illustrator wanted the illustrations to feel Japanese; but I think they fell a little short. They seemed to distract from the story than to help it. The writing was clear and easy to understand which helped the story flow really well. The only part of the book I enjoyed was seeing years into the future and that the crow boy was successful in life. He was able to go to the market on his own and help his family. As well as knew all about the flowers and birds when his class went on a walk. Which shows the message of the story really well; do not let anything drag you down in life and not able to succeed.

[lbradf4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion Crow Boy by Taro Yashima proves how one teacher can make a difference in a student's life. For years, the young boy given the nickname Chibi, was viewed by his peers as being afraid of the teacher and other students, and that he could not learn a thing. The students would make fun of him for being slow and stupid. Then in their final year of school, their teacher would talk to Chibi, and would display his work on the walls. When they went on walk around the school Chibi would know many of the places and the teacher was impressed that he knew they were. Then one day Chibi showed up on stage at the talent show. Noone knew who he was and why he was up there, then Chibi started imitating the voices of crows, which he learned on his long journey to and from school. Chibi was “leaving his home for school at dawn, and arriving home at sunset” which explained why he was always tired and never tried very hard in school. It wasn't until that one teacher took the time to talk to Chibi and get to know him that he realized that he wasn't stupid and there was a reason he was always quiet in class. This changed the way all the other students saw him and this changed the way he was viewed as a person. It was one person who took the time and to talk to the student that made a complete difference in one student's life.

[abrozi1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fabulous find! Besides the fact that I typically love Caldecott Award winning books for their stunning illustrations that create synergy with the text, this book was a real life story. The illustrations showed the isolation and emotions that the boy was feeling as well as the taunting and anger that came from all of the kids that made fun of him. It was just a lovely story of a boy who was misunderstood when a new teacher came into his life to help open up other people's opinion of him. I think this book should be a required read for appropriate grades.

[matthewbloome · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't terribly interested in the conclusion of this book. It seemed like no one really improved their behavior after they realized his value and his circumstances didn't improve because of it. The pictures were fair, but not my style.