Crow Boy – Taro Yashima – Class 6

Opening Questions

1. Where did the missing boy hide?
   The missing boy hid in the cellar of the schoolhouse.
2. What was the missing boy’s nickname?
   The missing boy’s nickname was Chibi.
3. Why was Chibi scared at school?
   Chibi was scared at school because of the teacher.
4. How did Chibi spend his time in class?
   Chibi spent his time in class staring at the ceiling and his desk.
5. What did Chibi like to do during playtime?
   Chibi liked to close his eyes and listen to sounds during playtime.
6. How did Chibi react to insects in the playground?
   Chibi reacted to insects in the playground by holding and watching them closely.
7. How did other children treat Chibi at school?
   Other children treated Chibi at school by calling him slowpoke.
8. What food did Chibi bring for lunch every day?
   Chibi brought a ball of rice wrapped in a radish leaf for lunch every day.
9. How did Chibi travel to school during storms?
   Chibi traveled to school during storms wearing a raincoat made of zebra grass.
10. Who was the teacher that changed Chibi’s life?
    The teacher that changed Chibi’s life was Mr. Isobe.
11. What did Mr. Isobe discover about Chibi in the classroom?
    Mr. Isobe discovered that Chibi knew about wild grapes and flowers in the classroom.
12. How did Mr. Isobe showcase Chibi’s talent in school?
    Mr. Isobe showcased Chibi’s talent in school by putting his drawings on the classroom wall.
13. Why was Chibi’s handwriting special in the classroom?
    Chibi’s handwriting was special in the classroom because only he could read it.
14. What performance did Chibi give during the talent show?
    Chibi gave a performance during the talent show by imitating the cries of crows.
15. How did Chibi learn the cries of crows on his way to school?
    Chibi learned the cries of crows on his way to school during his daily journey.
16. What was the audience’s reaction to Chibi’s crow calls at the talent show?
    The audience’s reaction to Chibi’s crow calls at the talent show was tears of regret and admiration.
17. What award did Chibi receive for his school attendance?
    Chibi received an award for his school attendance because he was present every day for six years.
18. What new name did Chibi get after his crow performance?
    Chibi got a new name after his crow performance, and he was called Crow Boy.
19. Where did Chibi live before coming to school?
    Chibi lived in the far mountains before coming to school.
20. What did Chibi sell in the village after finishing school?
    Chibi sold charcoal in the village after finishing school.

Vocabulary

• Cellar – A room or storage space below ground level.
• Nicknamed – Given an informal or affectionate name.
• Trudging – Walking slowly and with effort.
• Zebra grass – A type of tall grass used for making items like raincoats.
• Friendly – Kind and pleasant in behavior.
• Amazed – Feeling great surprise or admiration.
• Ascended – Moved upward or climbed.
• Talent show – An event where people perform to showcase their skills.
• Imitate – Copy or mimic something.
• Astounded – Shocked or greatly impressed.
• Lonely – Feeling alone or isolated.
• Perfect attendance – Being present at school every single day.
• Charcoal – A black substance used for burning and cooking, made from wood.
• Cries – Sounds made by birds or animals.
• Radish leaf – A green leafy part of a radish, used for wrapping food.
• Gazing – Looking steadily at something for a long time.
• Mockery – The act of making fun of someone.
• Companions – Friends or people who spend time together.
• Recognition – Acknowledgment or praise for achievements.
• Mountain road – A path or route through the mountains.

Letter Writing

Dear Mr. Isobe,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to thank you for everything you did for me in school. For many years, I felt invisible. The other children called me slowpoke. No one talked to me or played with me. I spent my time staring at the ceiling, watching insects, and listening to sounds around me.

I was scared of school. I was scared of the teacher. I was scared of my classmates. No one understood me.

Then you came, and everything changed. You noticed me when no one else did. You liked my drawings and pinned them on the wall. You asked me about flowers and wild grapes, and you listened when I answered. You didn’t laugh at my handwriting—you gave it importance. Most of all, you believed in me. At the talent show, you asked me to perform. No one thought I could do anything, but you knew I could. When I imitated the cries of crows, the whole school listened. For the first time, they understood me. They saw me in a way they never had before.

After that day, I wasn’t Chibi anymore. People called me Crow Boy, and I was proud of my name. I still live in the mountains. I still watch the insects, listen to the birds, and walk the long path home. But now, I am not afraid.

Thank you, Mr. Isobe, for seeing me when no one else did. Thank you for giving me a chance.

Yours sincerely,
Crow Boy

Textual Analysis

On the first day of our village school, one of the boys was found missing.

He had hidden himself in a cellar in the schoolhouse. None of us knew him. He was dark and small. He looked different from the other students. He lived on the other side of the mountain. Because of his size, he was nicknamed Chibi, which meant ‘tiny boy’.

This strange boy was too scared of our teacher to learn anything. He was too scared to make friends with other children. So he was left alone at study time and play time. He was always at the back of a class and at the end of a line.

But Chibi found many ways to pass the time and amuse himself. He would just stare at the top of his desk for a long time. Sometimes he would lie gazing at the ceiling for hours. There were many things to interest him: the design on the shirt of a boy sitting next to him, or what he could see out of the window.

In the playground Chibi would just close his eyes and listen to the wonderful sounds that came from near and far.

And he could hold and watch insects and grubs that most of us wouldn’t touch or even look at.

Everyone called him slowpoke – even the children in the lower classes. But slowpoke or not, Chibi came trudging to school everyday. He always brought the same lunch, a ball of rice wrapped in a radish leaf. Even when it rained or stormed he still came trudging along. He would then be wrapped in a raincoat made from zebra grass.

Five years went by, and we were in the sixth grade, the last class in school. Our new teacher Mr. Isobe was a friendly man with a kind smile. It was Mr. Isobe who changed the way we looked at Chibi.

Mr. Isobe often took his class to the hilltop behind the school. He was pleased to learn that Chibi knew all the places where the wild grapes and wild potatoes grew. He was amazed to find how much Chibi knew about all the flowers in our class garden.

He liked Chibi’s black-and-white drawings and tacked them up on the wall for everyone to see. He also had no complaints about Chibi’s handwriting. Only Chibi could read it. Mr. Isobe tacked some of what Chibi wrote on the wall. And he often spent time talking to Chibi when no one was around.

When Chibi appeared on the stage at the talent show of that year, no one could believe his eyes. “Who’s that?” “What can that stupid do up there?” But they were astounded when Mr. Isobe announced that Chibi was going to imitate the cries of crows. “Cries of crows?” They had more surprises coming.

Chibi ascended the stage. First he imitated the cries of newly hatched crows. Then he imitated the cries of mother crow and father crow. He then went on to show how crows cried early in the morning. He also imitated the cries of crows which were happy or sad.

Everybody’s mind was taken to the far mountainside from which Chibi came to the school. Now they could imagine exactly the far and lonely place where Chibi lived with his family.

Then Mr. Isobe explained how Chibi had learned those calls – leaving his home for school at dawn and returning at sunset everyday for six long years.

Every one of us cried, thinking how much we had been wrong to Chibi all those long years. Even grownups wiped their eyes, saying, “Yes, yes, he is wonderful.”

Chibi was the only one in our class honoured for perfect attendance through all the six years.

Chibi still came to the village to sell the charcoal he and chis family made. But nobody called him Chibi anymore. We all called him “Crow Boy”.

Hi, Crow Boy! We still heard his imitation of a happy crow as he returned home along the mountain road.