The Crows of Pearblossom

K-Gr 3—Each day Mrs. Crow lays an egg, and each day a rattlesnake slithers up the tree and swallows it while the bird is out shopping. Mr. Crow offers no sympathy when his wife explains the situation and asks him to kill the intruder. He soundly rejects the proposal, telling her, "Your ideas are seldom good." He and his friend Old Man Owl bake and paint two clay eggs and place them in the nest. The unsuspecting snake swallows the decoys whole and wraps himself in knots around the branches trying to ease his stomachache. The story ends with Mrs. Crow happily using him as a clothesline for diapers from the numerous children she has successfully hatched. Blackall ably illustrates the tale, adding humorous touches such as a briefcase for Mr. Crow, hair rollers for Mrs. Crow, and fang dentures for the "very old" rattlesnake. Yet, her well-crafted paintings seem wasted on this rather dated and unpleasant story. Mr. Crow repeatedly belittles his wife, who screams at him and his friend. Written by Huxley in 1944 for his niece and including reference to family members and friends, this is the only story he produced for children. As such it might hold some interest for scholars of literature, but it seems an odd choice for collections serving children.—Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato