Lila and the Crow

This is tied for first place as the best treatment of bullying I've read to date (3, 2, 1, Go! by Emily Arnold McCully is the other champion). It is less about inducing pity (although I certainly felt for Lila), and more about empowerment and a healthy dose of magical realism. The illustrations are beautiful. Lila is stunning. The resolution is excellent. Gorgeous.

Gabrielle Grimard is a French Canadian author and illustrator who makes her home in in the province of Quebec. She is the illustrator of When I Was Eight and Not My Girl by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, two picture books about a young girl's experiences of residential school. As soon as I saw her name on this title I knew I had to read it.

It is the exquisitely illustrated story of Lila, a young girl who has had to move to a new city. She is looking forward to making new friends. Then on her first day, Nathan, one of the boys makes fun of her crying,
"A crow! A crow! The new girl's hair is dark like a crow!!"



Each day Nathan adds on to this refrain; disdaining her dark skin and her dark eyes.
And 'Lila's heart grows as heavy as three stones."



As a result, she tries to cover up who she is and ends up friendless except for a crow who caws to her on her way home from school.



When Lila finally celebrate her 'crowness' she is magnificent. She is accepted and befriended by the rest of her classmates.



This is a book about being different and learning to fit in by claiming who you are. It is a necessary addition to a school's aboriginal collection even though the text makes no direct reference to Lila's heritage. It's there in the illustrations revealing to us a fragment of the experiences of urban indigenous children.

It would be interesting to pair this with The Crow Boy by Taro Yashima and compare the two stories.

My only real complaint about this story is that there are no adults in it. I am left wondering why teachers and other school personnel don't intervene to stop the name calling. On the other hand, I hope books like this one, will remind all of us to be more mindful about what can go on behind our backs, and that we are responsible for setting up the kinds of communities where this kind of behavior just doesn't get started.

Lila and the Crow is a picturebook by Gabrielle Grimard which is currently scheduled for release on October 11 2016. Lila has just moved to a new town and can't wait to make friends at school. On the first day, a boy points at her and shouts: “A crow! A crow! The new girl's hair is black like a crow!” The others whisper and laugh, and Lila's heart grows as heavy. The next day, Lila covers her hair. But this time, the boy points at her dark skin. When she covers her face, he mocks her dark eyes. Now every day at school, Lila hides under her turtleneck, dark glasses, and hat. And every day when she goes home, she sees a crow who seems to want to tell her something. Lila ignores the bird and even throws rocks at it, but it won't go away. Meanwhile, the great autumn festival is approaching. While the other kids prepare their costumes, Lila is sadder and lonelier than ever. At her lowest point of despair, a special encounter with the crow opens Lila's eyes to the beauty of being different, and gives her the courage to proudly embrace her true self.

Lila and the Crow is a heartfelt look at how it feels to be different, picked on, and self conscious. Lila is new, and just wants to make friends. she is teased just because she looks different, not because of her actions or personality. While only one person is doing the teasing, no one stands up for her which only makes her heart heavier. It is only when she embraces, in fact flaunts, what makes her different that the words of others no longer have power over her.

While most people, regardless of age, have felt this way at some point, it is important to show your children that if they are feeling bad about being different for any reason, they are not alone. the story shows those that feel left out that they are not alone. It can be used to start discussions on what makes everyone different and why we should embrace those characteristics rather than try to hide them. It could also be used to show how a fellow classmate or two standing up and not joining in the laughter or offering to play might have stopped Lila from being so sad and lonely for the majority of the book. There are so many wonderful ways to use this book to start important discussions as a family, in a classroom, or in a storytime stetting that I think it is a must read.