Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds

In Gravel’s Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds, an introductory graphic chapter book, readers are introduced to the crown-wearing crow, Arlo, and his new friend, Pips, a small yellow bird. Formerly a country dweller, Arlo, the self-proclaimed “King of the Birds”, is newly arrived in the big city, and Pips offers to show him around, but not before the diminutive songbird somewhat dismisses Arlo’s monarchical claims by pointing out that there are numerous birds that are more attractive and sing better than Arlo. The crow’s responds with, “Not everything is about beauty, you know”, before adding: “I can imitate almost any sound”, “I can count up to six!’, and “I have a big brain.”

One of the features of the text of Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds is that each time Arlo brags about one of his abilities, readers will see a red star next to the text, and, at the bottom of the page, there will be another red star introducing a text box in which Gravel confirms the accuracy of Arlo’s assertion. For instance, when Arlo brags about his big brain and shows Pips diagrams comparing most birds’ brains with that of a crow, the text box reads:

Crows have bigger brains than most birds. Some scientists say that they are as intelligent as seven-year-old humans.

In the next two chapters, as Pips introduces Arlo to the big city and the beach, readers learn about crows’ diets, ability to play dead, love of shiny things, capacity to deceive other birds, their recall memory, and their use of simple tools. In closing, Gravel adds another crow attribute: “Crows like to offer little things to people they like.” In an act of appreciation for Pips’ help throughout their day together, Arlo offers Pips the shell from which he has already extracted the contents, saying, “You can store your seeds in it.”

Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds contains all of the attributes that have made the books in Gravel’s “Disgusting Critters” series so popular with children. Facts and simply illustrated fun, combined in this case with likeable “odd couple” characters, will make the book popular with its intended audience. Readers who enjoyed Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds could be directed to another graphic depiction of crows, Crows: Genius Birds. Readers can look forward to more adventures of the braggadocious corvid and his little yellow friend in the forthcoming Arlo & Pips: Join the Crow Crowd!.