Crane and Crane

by Linda Joy Singleton, Richard Smythe (Illustrator)

Overview

"Charming and original."—Kirkus Reviews
 
A sandhill crane lifts a stick. A construction crane lifts a log. The two cranes grab, stretch, and stack, working through bad weather and difficult obstacles toward their end goal: building a home for a new family. Told in a simple sequence of verbs, this colorful picture book demonstrates how the mechanical world mirrors the natural world.
 
Linda Joy Singleton's sparse text invites comparison between words that have similar meanings but different actions. Richard Smythe's watercolor and crayon illustrations convey a story of a crane building a nest and a house being constructed for a human family. By the end, a crane chick and a human baby are born and both families are content in their new homes. On the last page, a "Crane vs. Crane" feature labels parts of both bird and machine
Called "Elementary but ingenious" by Horn Book Guide, this book is perfect for preschool collections to use as a read-aloud and to teach different meanings of words.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681524085
Publisher:	The Creative Company
Publication date:	03/12/2019
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

With plots involving twins, cheerleaders, ghosts, psychics and clones, Linda Joy Singleton has published over 25 midgrade and YA books.

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2019

PreS-K—This book draws comparisons between a construction crane and a sandhill crane. Both stretch, honk, and grab and stack materials as they work to build a new home—Crane for her babies, and the machine, a new home for a family. Side-by-side illustrations depict the animal and the machine demonstrating an action word printed in bold text (e.g., for "grab," the bird picks up sticks while the machine picks up logs). The juxtaposition is food for thought as readers progress through the book noticing similarities and differences. Both achieving a common goal is a nice wrap-up to the mirroring in the story. The illustrations are bold and warmly depict both nature and the industrial world. The end pages include a labeled diagram of both bird and machine. VERDICT A great book for teaching different meanings of words, useful for a read-aloud or a lapsit. Recommended as a general purchase for preschool collections.—Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh

School Library Journal

2019-01-15

Singleton compares the activities of a sandhill crane and a construction crane to teach simple vocabulary and to enable readers to observe similarities between two very different things.

Bird and machine are engaged in parallel activities. The bird is building a nest; the crane is building a house for a young couple with a baby on the way. Thus the story is skillfully shifted from the machine to the human story of the baby being born. The only text consists of simple, sometimes onomatopoeic verbs scattered through the pages as the bird and crane "lift" objects; "stretch" their appendages; "honk"; choose, "grab," and "stack" building materials; and "sway" in a tempestuous wind. Finally the house is built and the nest is complete, and the occupants of both move in. A crane chick hatches from an egg, and a baby is born in the new house. Both families are at peace in their new dwellings. The final word on the page is a noun: "Home." Smythe's shimmering watercolor-and-crayon illustrations convey the charming subtext of the nonverbal story of the crane family nesting and hatching and the white human family for whom the house is being built.

This charming and original book offers much for young readers and their caregivers to talk about as well as encouraging comparison and simile skills. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews