Lila and the Crow

K-Gr 2-Newcomer Lila can't wait to start school and make new friends. However, during the first recess, her dreams are crushed when the ringleader taunts her: "A crow! A crow! The new girl's hair is black like a crow!" She tries to hide her hair, but the next day she is mocked for her black skin and, subsequently, her black eyes. After weeks of misery, she falls down on her way home, and as she sobs, a crow lands near her. She sees how beautiful the bird actually is, and she follows it to a tree filled with crows. She is full of wonder, and when the flock of birds fly off, they leave Lila with piles of glossy feathers, with which she constructs a fantastic crow costume. She wears her costume to school in triumph, happy to be called a crow, and wins the friendship of her class. The mixed-media paintings are emotive and appealing, but on most spreads Lila's skin is hardly discernible as darker than that of her pale classmates, making it rather baffling when the bully yells, "The new girl's skin is black like a crow!!" Aside from that, there seem to be a variety of ethnicities represented in the classroom. Lila will surely garner sympathy and may inspire children to be kinder to others.