New Kids in the Flock

Arlo & Pips #3

by Elise Gravel

In the grand finale of Elise Gravel's graphic chapter book series that Kirkus called "a charming treasure," Arlo the crow is going to be a dad!

Check out the third and final book in the new early graphic chapter book series starring Arlo the crow and Pips. This HarperAlley series has received two starred reviews for its blend of smart humor and crow facts as well as praise from Ben Clanton, creator of Narwhal and Jelly, who called it "fun and informative!"

Goodbye, bachelor life in the city, hello, family nest in the suburbs! After meeting Marla and deciding she was THE ONE, Arlo is ready to commit and start a family. After all, crows mate for life! But being a dad doesn't mean Arlo is suddenly giving up his love for shiny things or showing off less. It just means he will have a new audience to impress and even teach! Parenting is tough even for a genius like Arlo. He and Marla will have their hands full with feeding and teaching their chicks how to fly, hunt, speak, and maybe dance a bit of ballet, but thankfully Uncle Pips is here to help.

This final story has snappy dialogue paired with a limited color scheme that's perfect for newly independent readers, and tons of amazing "kid-pleasing" bird facts—each marked with a star on the page. From acclaimed author-illustrator Elise Gravel.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Comics, Animals, Humor, Childrens, Juvenile

64 pages, Hardcover

Published April 5, 2022

Reviews

[Rosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: The third book of the Arlo & Pips early-reader chapter book series. The story, the wit, the trivia, and the illustrations come together in one adorable package. My favourite book of this series. What a wonderful finale!

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Arlo and Marla are now together. Their love has been… errrmm… fruitful, and there are... literally… new kids on the block in the flock. With the help of Pips, now promoted to “Uncle Pips”, the young parents navigate this new phase of their lives.

As is clear, this series is progressing though Arlo’s life sequentially. From a young crow in the first book to a chap in love in the next one, Arlo is now a responsible parent. Don’t for a second imagine that this indicates a stop to his bragging! Au contraire, it only means that he has new points to brag about. This time though, he cannot be blamed as every parent loves to brag about their children.

Pips is, as usual, my favourite character. I simply love the way he stands by his friend even as he is rolling his eyes over Arlo’s tall claims. He sets a great example of responsible friendship.

Thanks to the young brood, we get plenty of facts related to baby crows and even the parenting habits of adult crows. The facts come out through the story as well as the ever-present footnotes.

The illustrations are in the same style as the other books of this series: simple but highly effective.

While I enjoyed the earlier books as well, this book was easily my favourite. I am not sure if it was because of the parenting-related storyline or the humour, but somehow, this book was a notch above the rest.

All three books have been funny as well as informative. (Except on one factor: I still don’t know what kind of bird Pips is!) My heart bids a fond adieu to this series. It's been great learning more about my favourite corvid courtesy Arlo.

Much recommended, both for the humour and for the trivia. I am sure kids will enjoy all three books.

4.5 stars, happy to round up!

This was borrowed from my library.

Book 1: King of the Birds

Book 2: Join the Crow Crowd


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[Skye Elder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute and adorable! I love the ending!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pip is such a good uncle. Very cute and informative (the book and Pip). My favourite crow fact was about Canuck the Crow who stole a knife from a crime scene

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars--Arlo the crow becomes a proud parent in this lively, beginner graphic novel. It's full of fun and amazing facts about crows that will hopefully encourage readers to pay attention to and respect these often-overlooked birds.

[Kelly]

I already like crows (they're so smart!), so this was a perfect fit. It's got some funny parts and is just a good early reader graphic novel.

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea crows were so intelligent. It’s amazing to see how great Arlo is at parenting and that in real life, male crows are some of the only birds that actually help their mate with feeding and other activities. This was so cute!

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arlo and Marla are starting a family. We follow them from building a nest to laying eggs to hatchlings. Sometimes Pips hangs out with them. Filled with lots of facts about crows.

(Where are the facts about ... whatever bird Pips is supposed to be?)

[Silas N · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 3rd book of this series was just as delightful as the other two! I loved reading about Arlo and Marla the crows, Pips a tiny yellow bird, and Arlo’s cute but loud children.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great comic with crow factoids mixed in.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (I really liked it)

A fitting conclusion to this series. Lots more crow facts- this time mostly about crow babies as Arlo becomes a dad!

[Princess Banana of Bananaland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay crows

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are so fun and crows are fascinating.

[Mary T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew crows could be so fascinating?!

[blueygurl2016 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great! The baby crows were so cute.

[Élisabeth Léger · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have the others from the collection, invest in this one too !

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite part part was when the kids hatched and my least favourite part was when the birds try to fly and could of died.