I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join in with TLC’s Book Blog Tour for Margaret Peot’s debut picture book. Perfect Picture Book Friday is the PERFECT time to showcase this delightful story from Holiday House’s I Like to Read series.

Crow Made a Friend

Written and illustrated by Margaret Peot

Publisher: Holiday House (2015)

Ages: 4-7 (Early reader)

Themes: Making friends, resourcefulness, seasons

Opening Lines:

“Crow is alone. He has a plan.”

Synopsis:

From Amazon:

Try, try again is the lesson Crow teaches beginning readers in this picture book reader. Crow was all alone. But like all crows, he was very clever. Using autumn leaves for wings, sticks for the body and a crab apple for the head, Crow made a friend! But winter winds blew in, destroying his creation. Undaunted, Crow fashioned another bird friend out of snow but could not prevent it from melting in the warm spring sun. Alone again, Crow heard the caw, caw, caw of a real, live bird. Together they built a nest and by summer, Crow had a family. This warm, satisfying story, celebrates perseverance and ingenuity.

Why I like this book:

• I am blown away with the simple, yet effect text and illustrations…oh, to be an author/illustrator…Margaret has made the perfect marriage of words and pictures.
• Wonderful message of resourcefulness…no matter what the season, nature provides materials for us to use.
• And I love that with so few words, Margaret tells a heartwarming story that will encourage beginning readers to succeed in reading it themselves.

 

How a parent can use this book:

• Wonderful read aloud AND beginning reader
• Great book to encourage discussion of the importance of friendship and family
• Springboard for a nature walk…in the spring, can you see any nests that are being constructed? In the winter, can you find any bird or other animal tracks in the snow?

If you’d like to visit the other stops on Margaret’s book blog tour, here is the link:

http://tlcbooktours.com/2015/09/margaret-peot-author-of-crow-made-a-friend-on-tour-2015/

And, because this is a TLC blog tour, we have something VERY special to offer you…a chance to win a copy of this wonderful book. All you need to do is visit Margaret’s activity page and then come back here and comment on this post—which activity is your favorite: http://www.margaretpeot.com/activities/

 

RELATED ACTIVITIES

• Crow made a bird from sticks and leaves…what can you make?
• Helen Olsson over at MadDogMom has some amazing ideas

Photo courtesy: http://maddogmom.com/2012/10/09/leaf-creatures/

And here is Margaret’s Crow Doll Craft: http://www.holidayhouse.com/docs/CrowMadeAFriend_ActivitySheet.pdf

If you’d like to connect with Margaret and learn more about her books:

Website | TheInkBlotBook.com | Facebook | Twitter |

Pinterest (Crow) | Pinterest (Birding)

And for more wonderful picture book reviews, please hop over to Susanna Hill’s website where all sorts of lovely people gather to talk about the books they love.

I’ve got another very special blog post for Monday, so I hope you will all come back then. It has to do with a new anthology that is about to be published and why one of my stories is in it!

And if you live in the Milford, NH area, please come on down to the amazing Toadstool Bookstore on Sunday at 1pm and meet picture book author Maryann Cocca-Leffler. She’ll be reading one of her stories and signing books. She’ll also be my guest on Will Write for Cookies later this month.

Until then—have a beautiful weekend!