Six Crows

by Leo Lionni

While a farmer tends his field of wheat, six hungry crows watch and wait in a nearby tree. When the wheat ripens, the farmer builds a scarecrow to frighten them off, but these ingenious crows are not so easily scared. Bringing this original fable to life with brilliant collages, Leo Lionni deftly draws parallels between animal and human behavior that children can readily appreciate. And once again he shows us that compromise can work magic.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Birds, Nature, Friendship, Fiction

32 pages, Library Binding

First published July 16, 1949

About the author

Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than 40 highly acclaimed children's books. He received the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was a four-time Caldecott Honor Winner--for Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Leo Lionni died in October of 1999 at his home in Tuscany, Italy, at the age of 89.

Leo Lionni has gained international renown for his paintings, graphic designs, illustrations, and sculpture, as well as for his books for children. He was born in Holland in 1910 of Dutch parents, and although his education did not include formal art courses (in fact, he has a doctorate in economics from the University of Genoa), he spent much of his free time as a child in Amsterdam's museums, teaching himself to draw.

Lionni's business training gradually receded into the background as his interest in art and design grew. Having settled in Milan soon after his marriage in 1931, he started off by writing about European architecture for a local magazine. It was there that he met the contacts who were to give him a start as a professional graphic designer. When he moved to America in 1939, Lionni was hired by a Philadelphia advertising agency as art director. Later he became design director for the Olivetti Corporation of America, and then art director for Fortune magazine. At the same time, his reputation as an artist flourished as he began to exhibit his paintings and drawings in galleries from New York to Japan.

Lionni launched his career as an author/illustrator of books for children in 1959. Originally developed from a story he had improvised for his grandchildren during a dull train ride, Little Blue and Little Yellow was the first of what is now a long list of children's picture books, including four Caldecott Honor Books.

Reviews

[julia]

the OG Six of Crows! Kaz Brekker and Leigh Bardugo are shaking in their boots

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Farmers plant wheat. Crows eat wheat. (I mean, the farmer conveniently plants this all-you-can-eat buffet for them!) If the farmers and the crows could talk, surely they could come to an amicable arrangement... right?

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe, instead of talking like sensible creatures, the farmer will outdo himself making progressively scarier scarecrows, and the crows will outdo EVERYBODY making progressively scarier scarefarmers, and in the meantime the wheat will wither in the field and nobody will get to eat some. At least, not until they talk it over for a change.

Very good and clear moral message for kids, and it juuuuuust avoids being too "preachy" and annoying.

[Kelly Tessitore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six Crows is a cute story that begins as what seems like a stereotypical plot. How will the farmer get rid of the pesky crows? But through critical literacy, he gives a perspective that is not always mentioned. He provides the perspective of the crows and then shows how using words can straighten out a misunderstanding. He leaves readers with the message that if you talk things out during a disagreement then your problem will be solved and everyone can be content. This is appropriate message for young children who often struggle to use their words in an effective way while interacting with other children. The illustrations are unique and add to the overall charm of the story.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story, and the kids liked it. My niece saw the cover and exclaimed, "Oh good! Leo Lionni! This should be good!" The kids like crows, too, so they did enjoy this story that featured them.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six Crows by Leo Lionni- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- the book narrates the story of a farmer, six crows and an owl. This year the farmer has grown wheat crop in his field. The crop is about ripe. The farmer has placed a scarecrow on the field so that the all bird may fear and keep away from picking wheat grains. Crows are intelligent. They prepare a kite from dry leaves and weeds and fly it. The farmer is afraid. He prepares a larger scarecrow to bring in fear. Thus, the fight continues and the crop cutting is delayed. The owl contacts the farmer and the crows and both come to the discussion table. They become friends. The author provides the perspective of the crows and then shows how using words can straighten out a misunderstanding. He leaves readers with the message that if you talk things out during a disagreement then your problem will be solved and everyone can be content. The illustrations are unique and add to the overall charm of the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of the story.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Six Crows” by Leo Lionni is a fable about conflict resolution through a conflict between a farmer and six crows that keep eating his crop. A fable teaches you a lesson through a brief story and Lionni teaches children the importance of compromise through this clear message. The moral in this story is very straightforward and important for students of all ages. You can get so caught up in the problem, that you forget what you are fighting for. In Lionni’s book, his illustrations are very simple, however, works very well with the overall theme. This book teaches you how powerful words are, through not only the message but the descriptive language. The colorful and simplistic illustrations only add to the inspirational theme and vocabulary.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up when I saw a Leo Lionni's name on the cover. I've never heard of this book before and was curious. It was originally published in 1988, which would have made me an adult already. I've also not run into the book in schools I've taught in. I read it and loved it so much I'll read it with students too. It's a lovely tale of 6 Crows and and Indian farmer who wants them to scare them away from his wheat. A scarecrow is built and crows make a kite to scare the farmer! Owl has an idea to make all this nonsense go away!

[SaraKat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was on my school's pillars of character reading list for citizenship. It features an owl teaching two arguing groups to talk to each other to solve their problems. It is funny at first, and the crows and farmer are engaged in an arms race that escalates alarmingly. As in all arms races, the non-arms portions of the field are neglected, causing problems for all. The owl is an outside observer and can see both sides being silly, so he steps in to mediate. I liked the art.

[Snail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leo Lionni’s crows are so charming. (Very similar to the blobby way I draw crows, so I was charmed by the cover right away.)

read together with my elderly father and we both laughed at the line “let’s burn the field down!” as well as how quickly owl was able to resolve the arms race between the farmer and the crows… in just one page! I wish real life conflicts could be resolved so easily. Guess we need more owls in this world.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 'arms race' is brief but I think Lionni makes the point effectively. No mice though, just crows and a stereotypical 'wise owl.' Avl. on openlibrary but for some reason didn't show up in searches so here's a direct link to the very short fable: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL75425...

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am using this book as part of my scarecrow storytime. It is a good book about making friends and communicating. It is a bit serious so I think it would be too much for my preschoolers. I am going to try it with the kindergarten childrenn

[Wetdryvac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uh. Nice idea, but it very much seems preachy-magic fix rather than anything else.

Still decent, but everything I've read from this author seems very much as though it's talking down to, rather than talking with.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six Crows is another picture book by Leo Lionni with cute illustrations. Will the farmer and the crows find a way to coexist?

(Kaz and co.?)

[Alysa Fenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting folk tale. I thought it was neat that the wise owl helped end the conflict.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to a wise owl, six crows and a farmer learn that it is better to talk things out than to keep fighting.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this as a class read-aloud for a unit on conflict resolution. Loved the art!

[annalee ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like how this discussed conflict resolution, though I wish there was more dialogue between the crows and the farmer. But for kids, I think it’s great and gets the point across effectively.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six crows want to eat the wheat a farmer planted, but the farmer doesn't want them to eat the wheat, so he sets up a scare crow. I liked the moral of the story being talk out your problems.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those birds sure were menaces.

[KhiN’Millie Friesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the main of....talking - Khi 3

[Britni Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leo Lionni is a favorite in our house

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

When a farmer tries to scare the crows away from his wheat field, they scare him right back, but a compromise is needed to prevent the crop from spoiling.

My child was particularly impressed by the sword wielding scarecrow.

[Rochelle Sondae · Rating 3 out of 5]

It surprises me when I randomly pick a book to read and discover that it speaks directly to events happening in my own life. I'm a fan of Leo Lionni's work so even before I read this I was pretty sure I was going to like it. The farmer of the local wheat field wages war against the six crows that are eating his grain. In retaliation the crows build a large leaf crow to scare away the scarecrow. The farmer then builds a scarier scarecrow and the crows respond with an even larger leaf crow. The owl decides enough is enough when she sees that the wheat is getting neglected and promptly talks to both parties insisting that they reconcile their differences before the crop is lost. It reminded me of my wise Grandmother stepping in on childhood disputes making sure we always gave a hug/kiss and makeup before things got too far out of hand.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fable is about a farmer who dislikes that 6 crows keep eating his wheat right before harvest time. He builds a scarecrow to keep them away from the field. The crows are frightened by it and want to scare it away. They build a large bird kite out of leaves and bark to fly through the sky. This frightens the farmer who then makes an even bigger, scarier scarecrow. The crows build yet another bigger, scarier bird. Both the farmer and the crows were so busy scaring each other that the wheat field was getting neglected. A wise owl spoke to both parties and told them to talk it out.

Good for preschool storytimes.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun tale of conflict and one-upmanship that is only ended when a wise owl convinces the farmer and the pesky crows to talk it out, stating "It's never too late to talk things over." and "Words can do magic." It's a simple story, with colorful illustrations that teaches a moral, but is not too heavy-handed with the message. We enjoyed reading this story together and will look other books by Leo Lionni we haven't read yet.

[Steve_sonderman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six Crows is a fable written by Leo Lionni. The illustration in the book is great, as Lionni has received Caldecott honors in many of his other books. This book could be taught in a unit with fables. It also stresses the importance of communication and stepping out of your comfort zone. The ending also leaves a little bit up to interpretation, so discussion and further assignments can be made once the book is finished. Although the illustration and moral are good, the book isn't extremely interesting. Not one of Lionni's best, but if you are into the genre you would enjoy it.

[Indiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book on amazon when I was ordering a copy of Leigh Bardugo's YA fantasy novel "Six of Crows". This children's picture book with a very similar title came up as a search result. I grew up reading many of Leo Lionni's books but this was not one in my library. I immediately rectified that and added it to my collection. It has wonderful illustrations as with Lionni's other books. The six crows are utterly adorable. And a charming lesson about communication with words to be learned by all.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story about some crows and a farmer having a tough relationship as the crows want to eat the crops and the farmer wants a good yield. Eventually they make peace and find friendship thanks to an owl who acts as a mediator. The story provides a good base for children to use as they create similar texts about two rival parties and a peacekeeper. Reader's Theater would also be fun and children could take turns being a crow, the farmer, or the owl.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a simple message of peace. It seemed a little forced, but might still provide entertainment for children. I thought the illustrations were fairly nice, but I didn't care very much for the overall story. I probably wouldn't recommend unless you loved Lionni's work.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2011...

[Eric Timar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific peace story for children. A farmer and a group of crows engage in a humorous "arms race;" fortunately a wise owl is watching, and she decides to help.

I've read this to groups of children and they have enjoyed it. I'm always sure to make the "fearsome" kite "fly" by holding out my arms and "flying" the book in front of my audience.