Taro Yashima (1908–1994)

A lovely picture book about a boy who didn't connect with anyone over five years of school until a new teacher paid attention to who he'd been all along.

This book does not age well. For 1955 it is a great example of “own voices” but by today’s standards this book would be considered racist, ablest, and a host of other things. We do not even get to know Crow Boy’s name. Throughout the book he is called Chibi (Tiny one in Japanese), but no real name. He is the “other”. He is the silent kid in class who lives in his imagination. This book honestly makes me sad, especially as this was considered “progressive” for 1955. To me this show more is just, nope. It does not do well for today. For history, I get it, but I would not have this in my library today. #bannedBook show less

In my opinion, Crow Boy is an excellent book for students because it models how and why it is important to accept everyone, despite any variation. At first, Chibi’s classmates were not accepting of his "crossed eyes" or slow ways. The students saw him different than them, describing him as "stupid" and "slowpoke". As the years of school passed by, the classmates only saw the negative features and behaviors of Chibi. Not only do I support the idea of using this book as a modeling tool, but show more also I think that it is very realistic since too often our society is quick to judge. Just like the classmates in the book, often people judge or make assumptions about others based off little information. The classmates only knew that Chibi was slow, didn't make friends and stared into space. Therefore, Chibi was viewed as different and didn't have high expectations. However, at the end of the book, Chibi surprised his classmates with knowing all the noises of crows. Chibi who didn't have high expectations and was "stupid" proved his classmates wrong. With that said, the central message of the book is to accept everyone because everyone has something to bring to the table, big or small. Overall, I liked this book for two reasons. First, the characters are believable. Today, there are too often students and citizens of our society that are too quick to judge a person, just like Chibi’s classmates did. Second, the book pushes readers to think about tough issues and broadens perspectives. This book pushed readers to think about acceptance and the lasting affect. show less

A fabulous find! Besides the fact that I typically love Caldecott Award winning books for their stunning illustrations that create synergy with the text, this book was a real life story. The illustrations showed the isolation and emotions that the boy was feeling as well as the taunting and anger that came from all of the kids that made fun of him. It was just a lovely story of a boy who was misunderstood when a new teacher came into his life to help open up other people's opinion of him. I show more think this book should be a required read for appropriate grades. show less