This lovely, poetic children’s picture book—a celebration of a surprising friendship and the joy of helping others—begins with a lonely scarecrow guarding summer crops: “No one enters. / No one dares. / Scarecrow stands alone and scares / the fox and deer, / the mice and crows. / It’s all he does. It’s all he knows.”
But Scarecrow’s rigid, friendless existence is challenged and changed when something drops from midair in front of him, and he “does the strangest thing. / He snaps his pole, / bends down low, / saves the tiny baby crow.”
Scarecrow shelters the nestling, keeping him safe and helping him mend. An odd friendship develops between the two. They laugh together and wish on stars, forgetting for a time who they really are. But as the crow grows, he is destined to fly away, as all birds will. And Scarecrow, with his broken pole, will remain where he is.
Though all seems lost when his beloved friend flies away, a marvelous turn of events returns Scarecrow to a loving community and a restored frame.
The Fan brothers’ earthy, detailed, and delightful illustrations complement author Beth Ferry’s gentle, winsome verse. The pictures and the text capture the loneliness, sadness, surprise, joy, and love that Scarecrow—endearing, noble, and affectionate—experiences. (HarperCollins)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.