Crows Come Together

 

I Am We: How Crows Come Together to Survive 

by Leslie Barnard Booth; illus. by Alexandra Finkeldey 

44 pages; ages 5-8

Chronicle Books, 2025 

theme: birds, behavior, community, winter

I spill across the sky like ink—

fill the night with jagged cries.

I have one thousand eyes.

With the opening of the book we are invited into a winter flock of crows – a flock where one crow is part of the many because, as Leslie writes, “one set of eyes isn’t nearly enough.” With lyrical language she shows how the flock works together for survival. 

What I like about this book: The lovely, poetic language pulled me right in to the crow’s reality of winter survival. I love how Leslie explains that “we” is stronger than “I” – even if it is just for a night’s roost. There is a wonderful nod to the witches in Macbeth, and the recurring theme that night casts the spell that binds the birds together. The illustrations are perfect: dark, but not dreary! And there is Back Matter where curious readers can learn more about crow families, bird intelligence, social learning, and winter survival.

Every time I read a book by Leslie, I feel like she’s found a new way to tell a story. So I had to ask her One Question.

Me: How did you come to this way of telling a story about crows? And did you explore other ways of telling the story?

Photo by Kristal Passy Photography

Leslie: This story began with the concept of crows as social creatures that cooperate and collaborate to survive. I was particularly struck by the fact that crows benefit from the vigilance of other crows--by moving and resting as a flock, they can in a sense "see" with a thousand eyes. I had also been thinking, at the time I wrote this piece, about the power of cooperation more generally. We humans are inextricably bound to one another--our happiness, health, and survival depend on the actions of families, communities, and nations. Because the collective is the focus of this story, when I wrote the first draft I chose first-person plural point of view. While other aspects changed from draft to draft (I worked to add tension and create more of a narrative arc), the point of view remained consistent.

Beyond the Books:

Check out the video and activities at Leslie’s page for educators. There’s a lot to do there!

Get to know a crow. The best way is to find a place to watch them in your neighborhood, or at a park. If you want to know how to identify a crow, check out this page from Cornell’s All About Birds

Fold a paper crow. Instructions here.

Leslie is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website, lesliebarnardbooth.com

https://www.lesliebarnardbooth.com/

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Almost Snowcones

 When the beech leaves dry up over winter, they curl into cones - perfect for catching snow. Some years I find perfect snowcones. This year, not so much. But still, they're fun to find on a winter walk.

How do the leaves in your neighborhood catch the snow?

Explore Outdoors ~ Lichens

 One of my favorite winter activities is Lichen Looking. That's because trees don't have leaves during this season - or if they do, the leaves are dried and rattly. And they don't have flowers. But they do sport lichens and other fungi. And, in this case, it was neat to observe how the snow gathered on the curls of lichen and bark.

I found this tree at a city park. What sort of lichen can you find in your neighborhood?

Explore Outdoors ~ Wintery Flowers

 Welcome Back! Shadow or no, and regardless of what the Groundhog thinks, it's time for me to come out of hibernation, shake the snow out of my brain, and share cool science and books for the spring.

I spent part of the winter months in south Boston area, near the ocean. The air seemed to be warmer, the climate milder, and the flowers bloomed into December...

Here are a couple I captured at first snowfall, right before the Solstice.

 

You can tell the air was warm(ish) because the flakes are so big - large enough to distinguish them on flowers and leaves. Within a couple weeks all the flowers had lost their petals and leaves were dried and crinkly.

What do the flowers look like in your neighborhood this week?

Explore Outdoors ~ the way snow collects

 A couple of weeks ago I took my camera out into the snowstorm. It was one of those "snow globe shook and flakes are flying" days. The snowflakes were fat and heavy and ... wet! Noisy, too - I could hear them SPLOT on the ground as they fell. A good day for watching how snow collects on branches, twigs, and pine needles.

Next time it snows, watch how - and where - the flakes collect.

Explore Outdoors ~ Birds playing in the snow

 This week we've had some snow ... which means when squirrels zip over to the feeder, I can see their tell-tale tracks in the snow. Deer and squirrels aren't the only ones leaving tracks. My friend, Trish Engelhard, and I have been enjoying evidence of some bird fun outside our back doors.

photo by Trish Engelhard

Over on Trish's side of the hill, the birds have been making Snow Angels!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, on my hill the juncos are holding square dances.

 

 

 

 

 

What kinds of stories do the birds leave in the snow where you live?

 

Explore Outdoors ~ in a new place

 Most of my exploring outdoors happens right outside my back door: in the garden or along roadsides I ramble. Usually within a three-mile radius of my home. My goal is to find something of beauty each day. Then last month I had the opportunity to travel somewhere new...

I boarded a train and headed out west. On the trip out, it was fall. A couple weeks later, on my return trip, we were treated to a dusting of snow on the red rocked landscape of southern Utah. 

If you have the opportunity to travel this winter, take some time to sit with the landscape. And look for some of the earth's beauty surrounding you.

Winter is Coming...

On a Flake-Flying Day: Watching Winter's Wonders
by Buffy Silverman
32 pages; ages 4-9
Millbrook Press, 2023

theme: winter, nature, animals

On a feather-fluffing, seed-stuffing, cloud-puffing day…

… leaves rustle and frost glistens. Winter is coming and the animals and plants are getting ready for it. Some change color, some snuggle together, and some take loooong naps.

What I like about this book: The language is spare and lyrical, sometimes rhyming and always evocative of the season. If the words aren’t enough to get you up off the couch and into your jacket and boots (don’t forget a hat!) then the photos will! They are so bold and enticing. And there is back matter with more information about each plant and animal featured in the pages. There’s a few books suggested for further reading, and a glossary so folks reading the book aloud can answer such questions as, “what does molt mean?”

I love Buffy’s books about seasons SO much that I just had to ask her One Question

Me: What do you like best about winter?

Buffy:  My favorite experience in winter is waking up to fresh snow and trekking down to our lake. On a cold, cold morning, the snow squeaks beneath my boots and the air tingles in my nose. At first glance, the snow is an unbroken blanket of white. But soon I start to notice tracks--the heart-shaped hoof prints of a deer, the tail-dragging trail of a deer mouse, a straight line of fox prints across the snow-covered ice, and occasionally the bounding track of a weasel. Although I love the winter stillness, I'm excited to see that some wildlife is out and about. And that's the connection to ON A FLAKE-FLYING DAY--winter is a great time to explore and see what's happening in the natural world!

Beyond the Books:

Before winter comes, what do you notice about the natural world right now? Go outside with a notebook and write down things you notice about trees and plants and birds and animals.

The first day of winter in the northern hemisphere is usually December 21st, though the wintry season often starts long before that. How will you know when winter gets to you?

Be a Winter Explorer. Go outside and give yourself time to notice what you see, hear, smell, feel. Does winter have a taste? 

Check out Buffy's other seasonal books here (fall) and here (spring)

Buffy is a member of #STEAMTeam2023. You can find out more about her at her website. Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Looking for Beauty

Last month I headed outside with a challenge to find five bits of beauty in the nature around me. It was cold, so I didn't go far - just up the road a bit - but there was plenty to see: snowflakes trapped in the curve of a beech leaf; the prickles and stickles of dried plants; the spiral of a desiccated goldenrod leaf; seeds whose parachutes never opened...

What beauty do you find

 outside your door?

Explore Outdoors ~ Frost Flowers

 

Out for a walk in the woods last month, we discovered these needle-sharp, spiky frost flowers decorating the thin ice of puddles. These frost flowers have nothing to do with plants. Instead, they are ice crystals that grow on tops of newly formed ice on ponds and lakes - and even on the Arctic Ocean. It has to do with how warm the air is compared to the water, and the granules of ice trapped on the puddle surface. Those nubby granules form perfect spots for nucleation and growth of these porcupine-like "frost flowers."

What's happening to puddles and ice in your backyard?

Explore Outdoors ~ Rosehips in the Snow

 

Rosehips provide nutritious lunches for birds and squirrels. But - look at those spiky stems! You've gotta be tough to harvest these tasty vitamin-packed berries.

This week, look for roses in your neighborhood. If you find some rosehips, look for bite marks or other evidence that they're being nibbled by local wildlife.

Explore Outdoors ~ Fungi & a January Thaw

 

 

We got our January thaw a bit earlier than usual. Temperatures shot up from the previously polar zero-to-one all the way into the 50s. And yes, we had rain. The downed oak at the back of the garden was a wonder of brilliant moss greens, punctuated by small patches of these tiny fungi with spiky haircuts.

This week, keep an eye out for fungi. You might find them on old logs, tree trunks, branches that blow down, or even thick layers of woodchip mulch. Look at their colors and textures. Take a fungi photo or draw a picture of what you find.

Explore Outdoors ~ Winter ferns

 

In winter, even the palest green stands out against ice and snow, frozen rock. It never fails to amaze me at how a plant can find a root-hold between rocks. I wonder if living on the edge of a stonewall feels as breezy as it looks?

This week check out where plants are taking a toehold, planting down roots, clinging to the edge.

Explore Outdoors ~ Ice Crystals

Part of my favorite walking road is shaded by a hill. It was so cold last week that, during the middle of the day, ice crystals formed on blades of grass and the midribs and edges of leaves littering the ground. 

This week pay attention to the small bits of beauty 

that make up your world.

Explore Outdoors ~ An appreciation of small things

 At first glance this looks like a winter weed poking up through the snow. But it's actually the dried bracht from the fruit of an American basswood(Tilia americana). The stem bearing the tiny marble-like fruits grows out of the bracht, a specialized leaf.

This small leaf-bit helicoptered on the wind and eventually landed in my road - where I stopped to marvel at the tiny details of leaf veins.

This week, take time to observe the small things you come across. Dried aster heads and seedpods, leaf skeletons, a jay's feather, cat tracks across the snowy lawn, frozen grasses beneath the roof's drip-line, stubborn oak or maple or beech leaves still clinging to their twigs.

What tiny marvels do you find?

Explore Outdoors ~ noticing texture

 

 

A month ago, I found these leaves poking out from a stone wall. I was taken with the juxtaposition of hairy leaves against snow crystals. And there, off to the right, some soft moss...

What textures do you notice around your yard and neighborhood? Check out bark of different trees, old leaves and petals, moss and lichens. Write a list of texture words. My list looks like this: hairy, cushiony (moss), sharp and crystalline (ice).

I have Birds on my Brain

 We've got some feeders hanging from the lilac tree outside the kitchen window. Every morning I watch the chickadees and juncos, blue jays and woodpeckers ~  red-bellied, hairy, downy ~ feast upon sunflower seeds and suet. The juncos gather on the mess of intertwined lilac and forsythia twigs, a safe place to wait for the open spot at the feeder. The blue jays wait for no one. And the red-bellied woodpecker has discovered a stout limb below the suet where he can perch and peck away at his heart's content.

Though I've watched birds for many years, this will be the first time I officially count them for the Great Backyard Bird Count. 

 You might be wondering: hey, Sue, you count pollinators every summer - so why have you been ignoring the birds? Well, the truth is that a number of years ago a bear took down our feeder. After this happened a few times, we sort of gave up. But this year we decided to try again, because we really miss watching our feathery neighbors. And now the birds have told their friends where the buffet is and we anticipate seeing a good number.

Not only that, the Great Backyard Bird Count sounds like fun. All I need to do is: 

• watch birds for 15 minutes or more at least once over the President's Birthday long weekend. That's next week, Friday, Feb. 18 - Monday, Feb, 21.
• count all the birds I see or hear during those observation times
• report them using one of the tools listed on the GBBC website.

Since I've got the Merlin app on my phone, I'll probably use that. But you don't need a smartphone - you can jot down your observations in a notebook and report them using a computer. In fact, you don't need much of anything except a bird guide and some warm clothes. Binoculars are great, but if you don't have them, rely on your eyes and ears. You don't even need a backyard. You can count birds on your balcony, at a park, at the bus stop, at the school yard, or anywhere you are. Heck! You can sit at your kitchen table where it's toasty warm, and count birds while you enjoy your cup of coffee.

I'm planning to go outside, though. Partly because I want to listen to the birds and partly because I need to rack up some #1000hoursoutside time. And who knows, maybe I'll head down the road and check for birds hanging out by the creek. 

The real reason I want to participate is that I know the data we collect will help scientists learn more about where birds are wintering here in the northern hemisphere, and summering in the southern hemisphere. Yup, it's a global event. Find out more at  https://www.birdcount.org/.

Explore Outdoors ~ Springtails in the Tracks

 

A couple weeks ago I went out snowshoeing. It was a warm day for January – with temperatures all the way into the high 30’s (Fahrenheit). As I tromped along the road between hayfields, I noticed black specks sprinkled around tracks like pepper. They weren’t pepper flakes. They were tiny arthropods called springtails, or snow fleas.

So what were they doing in the tracks? Springtails live in the top layer of the soil, right under the snow. They spend their winter nibbling on fungi and decaying leaves, and on warm days they catapult themselves up, up, up to the surface. As winter turns to spring, these tiny springtails become spider snacks. You can watch a cool video about them here.

On warm days this month, look for a sprinkling of springtails on the snow around trees in your neighborhood. If you have a magnifying lens, take a close look. They won’t leap too far away.

Explore Outdoors ~ Look closer

 

Even when drying out, rosehips add a splash of color to the landscape: bright red against the white snow. But when you look closer you discover real treasure. The stem has thorns, but also hairs. As the hip ages, it becomes wrinkled. And sometimes, when you look even closer, you find tiny treasures. In this case it's snowflakes stacking on each other. 

Look closer at the winter weeds and plants in your neighborhood. What do you notice?

Explore Outdoors ~ Catching Snow Leaf by Leaf

 

Some leaves cling tight to their trees - even when all their friends have twirled and floated and wobbled earthward. Those left behind get tattered by the wind. Sometimes, those rips and tears create tiny shelves and pockets where snow collects. Sometimes leaves curl as they dry, forming funnels and cones that create safe havens to shelter snowflake gatherings.

Snow collects on twigs and branches, on abandoned bird nests and clotheslines and spiky flower heads. Where do you find snow collecting in your yard and neighborhood?