Book review by Aarene Storms - Crows: genius birds

Crows: genius birds 

(Science Comics series) 

by Kyla Vanderklugt

Buddy the dog doesn't know much about crows, but that doesn't mean a crow can't teach him tricks -- like tipping over the green garbage cans to get food, while leaving blue recycling bins upright (dogs are colorblind, but crows aren't, which is something new I learned from reading this book).

Crows are amazing -- and smart. Crows can make and use tools, they remember human faces (and teach their young to remember also). Crows can imitate the sounds of other animals, like dogs or even the speech of people. Scientists study crows to figure out why they are so smart although their brains aren't very big.

Just in case you think that a crow teaching a dog skills is a little outlandish, read the introduction to this book: the author relates the story of a friend's dog who was coaxed away by a crow calling "Here boy, here boy!" 

Library crow Photo by Aarene Storms

This is a fun, quick-and-fun-to-read introduction to crow science, written by a scientist and illustrated in comic form. If you like science, you'll like this book. If you like comic books and science, you'll like this book even more. If you like science and comics a lot, I recommend this whole series!

And if you like crows, come to the Richmond Beach Library and look for the two crows we call "Patience" and "Fortitude": they live in the park near the library and frequently beg for snacks from the library staff.

Aarene Storms 

Teen Services Librarian

King County Library System