Crow the Courageous
Crow the Courageous is a foundational project for Samartino Stories to create content that will help kids build courage by believing in themselves. We believe this is important as this personality trait is a cornerstone for developing adults to rely more on their inner strength rather than the opinion of others.
See below for some of the items we have created to date.
Thank you for your interest in building a community of courage!
Crow's Origin Story:
The humble creation of the Crow the Courageous brand was developed while driving a riding lawnmower on a warm summer day.
Years later, after contracting Covid I had some extra time to complete the concept.
Thanks to a community of family, friends, and supporters the idea became a reality through crowd funding.
Now the Crow the Courageous Brand acts as a cornerstone of Samartino Stories as we aim to build a community of courage,
one story at a time.
THIS STORY HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO LIVE ON BEYOND THE PAGES OF THE BOOK. WHEN CROW'S STORY ENDS, YOURS BEGINS...
This story introduces you to Crow, a bird of flight that chooses not to fly out of fear. He makes friends with other birds that can not fly. They enjoy each other's company, but are looked down upon by the other farm animals because of their limitations. One day a storm traps the farm animals in a barn. All except for Crow and his friends, as they had been excluded and were playing in a different field...
Enjoy the adventure of Crow and his farm friends as they turn this unfortunate situation into an opportunity to overcome their fears and save the day, despite their limitations. Upon completion, the reader should better understand the relationship between fear and courage while respecting the power of teamwork, non-quitting spirit, and being proud to be themselves.
-
Designed for Children Age 3-9 years old
-
Available in E-Book and Print versions
-
36 Colorfully Illustrated Story Pages
-
10 Character Sticker Pages with over 100 stickers (only available in print versions)
-
A fun story in a relatable setting that will have your child excited to see what is on the next page
-
An excellent message that highlights that having fear is part of life, and that what we do with that fear when facing challenges is what matters most
The Reader Brings the Story to Life:
What's better than reading a good story?... Being part of its creation! A child will want to read this story over and over for the simple reason that they helped make it.
The backgrounds of this book have been created. Now its up to you to bring the story to life by either imagining, drawing, or placing stickers of characters.
-
Imagine: The background art is fully illustrated to provide a canvas for your mind
-
Draw: You can use the stickers as reference in the back of the book or create your own interpretation on the design of Crow, Chicken, Duck, Rooster, & Ostrich.
- If you want to draw, but just don't know how, check out our YouTube Channel where my daughter and son will show you how to draw each of the characters!
-
Sticker: To make your creation process simple, we have provided over 100 passionately created stickers. The have been organized by page to help you find the art that is suggested for each page.
- To help personalize the experience, the child character stickers come in both male and female genders, in 3 different skin tones.
Crow the Courageous is more than just a story!
The underlying message that supports this campaign is the understanding that;
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
To support the messages of the story, so young readers can carry the experience with them in their daily lives, we have created the Crow the Courageous: Badge of Courage Game and the Kit of Courage positive affirmation bundle. Each component of this project has been carefully conceptualized and designed to do one thing; create an atmosphere of positivity that would allow the potential for families to create good memories together.
We are excited to share the Crow the Courageous experience and hope, in some small way, that this project can help create moments of joy with the ones that you love. Thank you for your interest in this project. We strive to create good memories one story at a time.
TESTIMONIALS
What are people saying about the Crow the Courageous Experience?
“Crow the Courageous is a book that you will want to share with all the children in your life. It is a culturally relevant story that encourages the readers to be brave and confident, yet true to themselves. I love how Jim provides everyone with a unique opportunity to connect with the characters in the story by using their imagination. This book is truly inspiring!”
Lauren Dennis - PhD student (Education: Curriculum and Instruction)
12 years of experience in the field of education (teacher, principal, administrator)
"What an honor! I had the opportunity to share this book with my first-grade students. They were engaged and intrigued. It captivated them from beginning to end! The students quickly became invested in the characters and expressed emotions throughout the reading.
They really enjoyed that I was able to use one of their names in the story. It made it very relatable. As an educator, I loved that it contained a lesson that the students can connect to: Never Give Up! It is relatable to many ages. There are many teaching points in this story that any educator would be happy to use in his/her classroom lessons. I can’t wait to buy a copy and be able to use it for years to come! "
Erika Issler, 1st Grade Teacher
“Crow the Courageous soars above expectations for a fantastic children’s book! It allows children to bring their narrative visions to life in a revolutionary way where they become a part of the writing process! Brilliant!
Julie Aguero, Mother of 2
Story Reflections of a Mother
Book Tour 2022
“Courage is to be brave and know you can do it”
“We Loved it”
“AWESOME!”
“I liked it because I love animals”
“I liked it because when he needed to show courage he did”
“They called him crow the coward but now they realize he’s brave”
“Best was when Crow was brave and flew to save the animals”
“ You could hear the students saying:
Oh no! I hope the animals get out!
Fly Crow… you can do it!
Yay… Crow is a hero!”
“Crow was scared but when he knew he should fly,
he faced his fear and saved all of his friends”
“With family and friends beside you, you can do anything”
“If you read this book, you could overcome any fear!”
COLLABORATORS
A community of courageous supporters