This is the story of a strange, shy little boy in a village school, who was ignored by his classmates until suddenly, and almost too late, they discovered that he had much to give them. It tells how he outgrew the derisive nickname of "Chibi", or "Tiny Boy," and instead became "Crow Boy," loved and admired by all.

It is a short story, told with great poignancy. Simple on the surface, yet deep with meaning, it grows with each rereading. Though it could have happened anywhere, it is laid in the little village in Japan where Mr. Yashima grew up. The full-color pictures have unusual vividness and sensitivity. They flow across the page with the rhythm of the children at play and with the dawn and evening beauty that surrounded Crow Boy on his mountain walks between home and school.

Like his other books, The Village Tree and Plenty to Watch, Taro Yashima made Crow Boy in answer to some of his daughter Momo's questions about his childhood in Japan. Mr. Yashima now lives in America and divides his time between California and New York.

From the dust jacket