The Corvin family loves to build things-big things, small things, fast things, and sometimes things that make Mara ask, "Are you sure that's supposed to be smoking?" Rowan Corvin has always dreamed of flying, but not in an ordinary airplane. He imagines something different: a machine that can turn, dive, climb, and move through the sky almost like a bird. With his father Eli building, his mother Mara keeping everyone safe, and his brother Silas asking the questions that make the whole family think harder, Rowan's strange idea begins to take shape inside the family workshop they call the Nest. Piece by piece, CROW-01 is born-a remarkable mechanical Crow built from carbon, metal, sensors, engines, wings, and a pilot cradle unlike anything the Corvins have made before. But building something extraordinary does not mean getting it right the first time. The first tests wobble, tilt, clunk, and fail. The Corvins measure, argue, repair, learn, and try again. Along the way, Rowan discovers that the most important part of flying is not simply leaving the ground. It is being able to come home. When the Crows Were Young is an illustrated family adventure about imagination, teamwork, curiosity, perseverance, and the courage to build something that has never existed before. It celebrates children who ask questions, families who solve problems together, and the idea that mistakes are not the end of a project-they are often the beginning of the next better idea. Before there were great flights, there was a workshop. Before there was a legend, there was a family. And before the Crow could soar, someone had to ask: "What if we built it?"
