I found The Royal Raven to be a very good book. One of the things I like about its moral. The message of The Royal Raven is to be true to who you are and not change yourself for others. This was seen when Crawford the crow received his wish and became beautiful with shiny feathers. While he was happy, his friends were startled by his appearance and kept thinking, “Who is this Crazy Bird?” It was only when he shed his feathers that everyone loved him again, for he was back to his old self. Another thing I like about this book is the use of language. It uses very descriptive language that is not always common, such as “that glorious bird” or “Crawford swooped around…” Lastly, I enjoy The Royal Raven’s use of color in the illustrations. When Crawford is changed into a beautiful bird, his golden feathers look metallic that make them stand out in the drawing, just as he does in the story. This effect also ties into the story, as Crawford becomes the most vibrant thing on the page it is no wonder that humans would want to keep him for themselves. ( )

This book reminded me of The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. Crawford, the raven in this story, and Rainbow Fish are very similar in their desires and their decision making and each story reaches a similar conclusion with the fish choosing good friendship over personal beauty and fame. This one followed a fairy tale arrangement with the mysterious old woman with magical powers granting Crawford his feathers, but when it comes down to it the two stories pair well with one another, down to the sparkles on feathers and fish scales in the illustrations. ( )