Vancouver's Canuck the Crow is back — in a book created by a 9-year-old
Vancouver's infamous Canuck the Crow is back in the limelight, this time starring in a children's storybook written by a father-daughter duo.
The cunning corvid, voted Vancouver's unofficial ambassador, has made headlines in the past for stealing a knife from a crime scene and breaking into a McDonald's and riding the SkyTrain.
Nine-year-old Haru Yarmie has so many stories about Canuck that she decided to write a book about him. She co-authored A Crow Called Canuck: A Children's Activity Book with her father, Arran Yarmie, after first meeting the mischievous bird while playing outside.
"I was playing catch with my friend. He came and stole my ball and untied my friend's shoe," Haru said.
"I thought it was really funny."
They could tell it was Canuck because of the distinctive orange band on his leg.
Yarmie said his daughter has always shown a strong interest in writing and drawing.
"She said, 'Dad, I'd really like to get a book published," he told Stephen Quinn, the host of CBC's The Early Edition.
"I thought, well, Canuck the crow is an amazing crow that we've had some encounters with, so why not try to make a book about him."
'Some really creative vision'
Haru came up with the stories and drew the illustrations, with some help from her dad on the background scenery. It took them about a year and a half to finish.
"It was really great working together," Yarmie said.
"Haru really did have some great ideas when it came to the stories and some really creative vision when it came to doing the illustrations."
He pitched it to Hancock House Publishers because of their involvement with wildlife preservation. Partial proceeds from the book — any profit the two authors would make — are being donated to the Hancock Wildlife Foundation.
The book is now on shelves at stores around Vancouver.
"It's really exciting to see a book that I made [on the shelf] with other books that I really like," Haru said.
