Review by Booklist Review
A crow stares at a blank corner. Bit by bit, the crow turns the empty space into a unique home. Simple furniture is first. It adds a bed, bookshelf, rug, and lamp. Next comes a plant. As the crow reads to it and waters it, the plant grows bigger, but the rest of the crow's corner is static. Dissatisfied, the crow wonders what else to add. In a burst of inspiration, it begins decorating the walls. Next, the crow adds a speaker to play music. As the plant and the drawings both become larger, it is as if the crow itself is growing, not in size but in awareness. Reaching a greater point of inspiration, the crow cuts a hole and builds a window for the corner. For the first time, the perspective shifts completely to show the outside, with another bird looking in as the crow leans out the corner window. Exploring themes of growth, trying new things, and broadening one's view, this understated story uses ever-expanding visual images to skillfully convey layers of meaning.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This mostly wordless picture book opens as a black, crow-like bird contemplates the empty corner of the title, which fits neatly into the gutter between the pages. The floor is gray and the walls are high, white, and blank, an effect amplified by the book's long, tall trim size. First staring up at the utterly bare corner, the bird gets to work, moving furniture and personal effects into the space--a bed, a rug, a bookcase, then a lamp and small green plant. "Hello?" it greets the plant. For the first time, the bird seems to relax, reading near the foliage, then pouring water over it and tucking in to sleep nearby. "Hmm. What else?" it asks. Soon, other ideas take shape, and the figure begins an ambitious mural that requires a handful of other objects: a radio, spare art supplies, and an increasingly tall ladder. South Korean creator ZO-O draws the corner from precisely the same angle throughout, the better to emphasize its transformation. It's a cleverly wrought tale of growth, inventiveness, and how an impulse to nurture brings life into a space, allowing a being to thrive. Ages 3--7. (Mar.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this South Korean import, a crow ponders two white, empty walls of a room--and then takes action. Relocating to the corner, the restless black bird tries various positions on the softly textured, gray floor. The image of the creature lying on its back, feet spread on the walls, will elicit giggles of recognition. The bird brings over a bed, a bookcase, a rug, and a lamp, adding color and interest, and addresses a small potted plant with an inquiring "Hello?" Children will relate to the crow's subsequent attempts to pass the time: reading, sleeping, watering the plant, eating what appears to be a bowl of cereal. The problem-solver then turns to art, creating elaborate yellow patterns on both walls that require increasingly larger ladders to reach. Music and dance fill a void as well, and the plant is thriving under the crow's care, yet "Something is still missing." Covering the furniture with drop cloths (a delightful detail), the industrious soul applies a circular saw to a wall. The resulting window yields the best result yet: a potential friend, a white bird whose existence is possibly foreshadowed on the cover. This enchanting, nearly wordless title allows space for viewers to construct their own narratives, imagining how they would feel--all alone in an empty room--and what they would need or do to feel complete. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A quirky, thought-provoking, and stunning reminder that a house is not a home. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
