As the Crow Flies

As The Crow Flies

"First-time illustrator Duggan's images mix static calm with dynamism, tranquil cityscapes with speeding cars. His portraits of crows and their antics are faithful and careful, and he makes especially effective use of panels to convey sequences of events. It's more of a naturalist's journal than a nonfiction reference--the scenes were inspired by crow behavior the husband-and-wife team witnessed firsthand. . . Readers should look more closely at crows after they read Keenan and Duggan's book, but not before lingering over the illustrations." — Publishers Weekly

"Keenan and Duggan have created a dandy introduction to the raucous birds. Speaking in short, rhyming couplets, the avian narrator walks readers through an urban neighborhood as it explains how crows steal food, mess up car windows, and keep warm by flying through the city calling loudly during daylight hours, then roosting together in leafless trees on cold fall and winter nights. . . .This lovely example of picture-book design — a beautiful meld of text and illustrations — deserves a place on both school and public library shelves." — School Library Journal

"A helpful addition to the nature shelf, especially for its uncommon focus on urban birds." — Kirkus

"This could be useful as an introduction to a nature study lesson or as a poetic part of a bird-themed story session." — BCCB


As The Crow Flies "First-time illustrator Duggan's images mix static calm with dynamism, tranquil cityscapes with speeding cars. His portraits of crows and their antics are faithful and careful, and he makes especially effective use of panels to convey sequences of events. It's more of a naturalist's journal than a nonfiction reference--the scenes were inspired by crow behavior the husband-and-wife team witnessed firsthand. . . Readers should look more closely at crows after they read Keenan and Duggan's book, but not before lingering over the illustrations." — Publishers Weekly "Keenan and Duggan have created a dandy introduction to the raucous birds. Speaking in short, rhyming couplets, the avian narrator walks readers through an urban neighborhood as it explains how crows steal food, mess up car windows, and keep warm by flying through the city calling loudly during daylight hours, then roosting together in leafless trees on cold fall and winter nights. . . .This lovely example of picture-book design — a beautiful meld of text and illustrations — deserves a place on both school and public library shelves." — School Library Journal "A helpful addition to the nature shelf, especially for its uncommon focus on urban birds." — Kirkus "This could be useful as an introduction to a nature study lesson or as a poetic part of a bird-themed story session." — BCCB