CHICK
By Ed Vere , Ed Vere
Age Range: 1 - 3
A little yellow chick hatches and experiences its first day in a simple, graphically striking narrative spiced up by graphic tableaux. "Egg cracks / crick crack crickitty crack"—an orange beak pokes out of a pop-out egg. The simple sentences are complemented on each spread by sound effects and word balloons ("cheep!”). Vere's cartoons are simple and funny, outlined boldly and featuring big goggly eyes; they are set against eye-poppingly bright backgrounds. Aimed at toddlers, the humor is appropriately juvenile, with a nod to the parents who are reading it aloud. "Chick poops" is activated by a wheel that sends little brown pellets shooting to the ground while mummy rolls her eyes. Beware, though: The relatively light stock will probably fall victim to the first or second clutching toddler fist—it’s not for the long haul. (Pop-up. 1-3)