Clever Crow by Chris Butterworth, illustrated by Olivia Lomenech Gill (Candlewick, 32 pages, ages 4-8). “Wherever you are right now, there’s sure to be a crow or two nearby.” Crows are easy to spot, but also easy to miss. They tend to be plain, not particularly fancy fliers, and have a hoarse caw instead of a melodious song. But they’re smart enough to use tools and store food, and sometimes you can see them acting playfully. To summarize, they are “smart, clever, crafty and playful…just like you!” Includes a list of suggestions for learning more about crows and a short index.

The illustrations in this book are stunning, beginning with the endpapers, which show various crow eggs in the front and the birds that hatch out of them in the back. The text is quirky but interesting, although it left me wanting to know a lot more…for instance, is a crow a specific bird or a family of birds? I was surprised by the inclusion of a blue jay on the back endpapers, since I don’t think of it as a crow, but a quick Google search revealed that it’s part of the crow family. This is an eye-catching introduction, but curious readers will want to dig deeper for more information.

Sleepy: Surprising Ways Animals Snooze by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Robin Page (Beach Lane Books, 32 pages, grades K-3). Whether it’s the half-sleeping brain of the dolphin, the deep torpor of the hummingbird, or the eyes-wide-open slumber of a snake, animals get their rest in a variety of fascinating ways. Each page features a close-up illustration of the animal with four lines of rhyming text describing its sleep, with a paragraph of additional information giving more details. The last page features a human child experiencing what scientists call “monophasic sleep.” Includes a list of the types of sleep in the book, a list of sources, and pie charts showing sleeping and waking times for all 16 animals and five more showing humans at different developmental stages.

As much as I mourn the loss of Steve Jenkins, his talented wife Robin Page has found an able partner with Jennifer Ward, whose rhyming text and fascinating facts reminded me of many a Jenkins book. The pie charts were very similar to some in his Animals by the Numbers (and the fact that I know that is a testament to how many times I’ve shared that book with classes.) The rhyming text and pictures will appeal to younger readers, and older ones will enjoy the additional information about each animal.