The Crowstarver Quotes

Young Spider is different from other boys; he’s handicapped both mentally and physically. But he has a marvellous affinity with animals of every sort. A crowstarver is someone who scares crows away from the growing corn, and Spider is the best crowstarver there ever was; and in his understanding and love of all animals, even the croaks, as he calls them, he finds fullfilment.

There’s a warmth in this book, a profound understanding of the cycle of birth and death, and a wisdom that knows that big things like joy and wonder are often found in little things like robins and Liquorice Allsorts and penknives.

“Crowstarving was the ideal job for Spider - he was on his own - yet never alone, for all around him were animals of one sort or another.”

Discovered as a foundling in a lambing pen, Spider Sparrow grows up surrounded by animals. From sheep and horses to wild otters and foxes, Spider loves them all, even the crows must scare away the newly sown wheat.

“Amazingly, every animal who meets Spider implicitly trusts the young boy. This magical rapport is Spider’s unique gift, but nothing else in his tough life is so easy.”

“From the moment he’s left as a foundling in a lambing-pen on Outoverdown Farm, Spider Sparrow is surrounded by animals. Adopted by the kindly shepherd and his wife, Spider has comes to know all the animals on the farm, including the crows he must scare away from the newly sown wheat.”

A foundling, Spider Sparrow isn’t like others; he doesn’t speak much and he shuffles along. But in spite of his infirmities, Spider has a special affinity for animals. And that’s the story. The story of a boy who seems handicapped but who uses his strengths to make a lovely life for himself.

The book focused on animals, follows the boy Spider, abandoned at birth, and different through life. His gift for befriending animals brings him joy & value in his small farming community. We get a glimpse of life in the English countryside during World War II.

A foundling, Spider Sparrow isn’t like others; he doesn’t speak much and he shuffles along. But in spite of his infirmities, Spider has a special affinity for animals. The story of a boy who seems handicapped but who uses his strengths to make a lovely life for himself.

“In the pre-war rural world of the English countryside, The Crowstarver tells about a close-knit farming community and the ways of animals and birds. But this is a story of country life with a difference. Joy comes to a childless shepherd and his wife when a baby found lying in the straw of a sheep pen becomes their very own child. As he grows up it becomes clear that Spider is not “normal”.