Crow and the Rainbow found its start as I was talking with Kiera, my second oldest daughter, after the recent publication of my first children’s book, The Copper Kettle. Of course we were very excited and Kiera said that she wanted to write a story someday too, and as a matter of fact she had an idea for one right then! In our neighborhood, there are quite a few crows, and she had often expressed interest in these loud and shiny black birds. She wanted to know if they had always been so black and noisy, and wondered why they were so attracted to shiny objects.As only a child can, she began to narrate a short story about the greedy black crows and how they had tried to steal the rainbow, and so lost their voice (since they flew too close to the sun). She then asked me to help her finish the story, and the rest is… well, the rest is an intriguing short story about how Crow came to be the way he is today! The illustrations for this book were created by Georgia Padilla, a brilliant Colorado-born artist whose intricate and colorful artwork truly brings this story to life. I am extremely grateful to both of these amazing young women whose imagination and talent have come together in this story – we hope that you enjoy reading Crow and the Rainbow as much as we did creating it!