Crow Medicine.

Deborah Dowson is a Canaadian children’s librarian in North Wales,
Pennsylvania.

Jane Ray is eager to begin working this summer for the Urban Wildlife Rescue Centre, but a controversy over the threat of the West Nile Virus and the centre’s policy on euthanizing crows jeopardizes both Jane’s job and the centre’s sources of funding. Jane understands the necessity to protect the other animals and humans from West Nile virus, but she wants to find an alternative to euthanasia to achieve that goal. She receives guidance from an old woman who teachers her about “crow medicine.” The woman convinces Jane that she has the power of the crow: independence, intelligence, curiosity, and the ability to warn of danger. Jane heeds her crow medicine and saves the centre and the crows.

In this second book in the Jane Ray’s Wildlife Rescue Series, Jane continues to discover her voice and her power to be an advocate for wild animals and the environment. While being informed of various issues and attitudes surrounding animal rescue, the environment, and health, the reader is entertained by Jane’s friends, whose lighthearted characters bring a welcome amount of humour in contrast to the overall earnestness of the story. The plot is complex and builds rather slowly, running the risk of becoming bogged down in explanations as opposed to action, but then finishes with an extravagantly dramatic climax and a conclusion that satisfactorily ties up the loose threads. Animal lovers will certainly be inspired by the heroic accomplishments of Jane Ray and her friends. Recommended.