Ladybug Nominee Profile

Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the World) by Corey R. Tabor (Greenwillow Books, 2025)

Cranky, crabby Crow does not want to play with Squirrel or do loop-de-loops with Hummingbird. He doesn’t have time for Rat or Bat. From high atop a telephone pole, Cat warns Crow that he will soon be all alone if he turns his friends away with his very cranky “kaw!” one more time. But, unbeknownst to all, Crow has bigger, world-saving fish to fry—he must protect planet Earth from an asteroid headed our way!

About Corey R. Tabor

Corey R. Tabor loves books. He especially loves picture books.
He is the author and illustrator of several award-winning books for children, including the Caldecott Honor-winning Mel Fell, the Geisel Award-winning Fox Has a Problem, Fox at Night, and Fox the Tiger, and the Sir Ladybug graphic novel series. Corey lives in Tacoma, Washington with his family and spends his time making pictures and stories. His website is: https://www.coreyrtabor.com/

Activities & Links

• Check out this Read aloud at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vkd2V2IV2c
• Here's a Q&A with Corey R. Tabor by Publisher's Weekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/97672-q-a-with-corey-r-tabor.html
• Check out National Geographic Kids' facts about the American Crow at: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/american-crow 
• Creative Writing exercise: Have children write a story imagining what their own favorite animal would do if they had a secret, world-saving job.
• Create a fun activity to decode the secret messages hidden in the book's end-papers.

Suggestions for Further Reading

• Check out the other 2026 Ladybug Longlist titles featuring Flying Creatures at: https://nhbookcenter.blogspot.com/2026/01/ladybug-longlist-flying-creatures.html 
• For more fun books about animals, consider Seals Are Jerks! by Jared Chapman, a 2025 Ladybug Longlist title, and I Am Not a Penguin by Liz Wong, a 2024 Ladybug Longlist title. 
• For more books by the author, check out Mel Fell, a 2022 Ladybug Nominee Finalist and Snail Crossing, a 2021 Ladybug Nominee Finalist. 

This is one of nine titles nominated for the 2026 Ladybug Picture Book Award.
We will be posting information about a different nominee each Friday throughout the summer and will issue a pdf voters guide featuring all the titles by Labor Day.