Merry Christmas, Merry Crow

Ok, it's just me. But I like Appelt's juvenile novels much better than her picture books. And I found the people's faces in this art to be too 'off' and distracting from the beauty of the critters and settings. And the predictability of the ending meant that the whole book felt, to me, like an excuse to sell an ICC (Instant Christmas Classic) to people, like me, who like crows.

I really like this book, and i wanted to make it somehow more interactive for my wiggly bunch. I thought about giving them the objects, and bringing a mini tree for them to decorate as the story goes on, but I didn't have enough time or materials for this, so I just had them make a crow noise (caw) everytime I turned the page. It worked like a charm.

A crow gathers this and that. Best part: the ending. Ages: 4-10.