Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
A crow flies through a Christmas scene of a city in the snow. Terse verse describes his travels through yards, past the zoo, gathering bits and pieces of shiny things as he goes. He even picks up a ribbon bow and mistletoe. The city’s Christmas parade marches across a double page, folks go to church across another, as the crow continues his collecting. He finishes his flight, having decorated a “perfect Christmas tree” for all to gather around and enjoy. Opaque acrylic paints produce modeled forms, naturalistic detailed scenes crowded with typical seasonal activities. In each setting we see the crow busy at his scavenging, until he is finally joined by a group of carolers and other friendly birds enjoying the decorated tree. The simple story exudes the warmth of the holidays on each page. 2005, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 3 to 7.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 21))
The acquisitive habit of an enterprising crow leads to a fully decorated community tree for both townspeople and birds in this holiday story told through short, rhyming couplets. The story follows a single crow flying though a busy city on a snowy afternoon as darkness falls, picking up lost trinkets and toys, shiny decorative items, scraps of food and a handy bag of birdseed. This busy bird is obviously bent on some important project, which is revealed in a dramatic spread of the decorated tree with a flock of birds gathering in the deepening twilight. Goodell's oil and acrylic paintings creatively expand on the short text with lots of details of the city's shops and residents and create a sense of impending excitement with shoppers, carolers and a town parade complete with Santa and a marching band. The attractive cover shows the crow flying past decorated houses, with the title printed in shiny, silver letters that any crow would admire. 2005, Harcourt, 32p, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 3 to 7. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lisa Martingano (The Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2006)
This book teaches a valuable lesson. You will learn that one man's trash is another man's treasure. In this book, a crow flies around town collecting lost treasures for a very special Christmas surprise. This book is filled with wonderful illustrations; every page is bright, colorful and appealing. This book will put you in the holiday spirit; it is an easy read with nice rhythm to it. This book keeps children interested because they want to keep reading to find out the magical Christmas surprise at the end. Children of all ages will enjoy this book, and I highly recommend it. This book teaches you that one man's trash is another man's treasure, and you can use this book as an open discussion on this topic. Category: Picture Book. 2005, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 3 to 11.

Betty Key (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 18, No. 3))
This story in rhyme tells of a crow that flies around town at Christmas picking up things. He collects buttons, feathers, broken toys, Christmas decorations, candy wrappers, etc. Children will enjoy the surprise ending. The illustrations add to the story. They show where the crow finds all his treasures. They also give the feeling of a snowy Christmas Eve. Young children will enjoy guessing what the crow is doing. Beginning readers should be able to handle the two or three lines of text on each page. This is a nice Christmas book. It shows the joy of giving surprises at Christmas Fiction. Grades Preschool-2. 2005, Harcourt, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 2 to 8.