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THIS IS THE CHICK

Name: THIS IS THE CHICK
Author: Wendy Hartmann
ISBN: 978-1-56656-039-9

by Wendy Hartmann ; illustrated by Joan Rankin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 20, 2017

A definite hit.

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A South African import with echoes of “Chicken Little” and other absurd chain-of-events tales.

When a little guinea fowl chick cheeps in the South African veldt, it sets off a chain reaction that causes a frenzy among the other animals. Rhyming, “House That Jack Built”–style verse details how an elephant stomps, which makes a kudu lift its horns and prick a monkey that lets out a scream, and so on. No, the sky isn’t falling, but the hubbub created by the animals grows until a “ranger” (depicted as a young brown-skinned child) declares “I’LL SAVE EVERYONE!” as the animals crash into his small house. A “quiet and wise” owl observes the chaos from a tall treetop and commands, “STOP!” The animals frantically describe a terrible beast they’ve heard, which an accompanying illustration depicts as a composite character made of up the very same creatures who’ve caused all the upset and noise in their cumulative actions. The owl dismisses them and says it was just the chick who let out that first little cheep. And, “where is THAT chick that let out the CHEEP?” A final page turn reveals that “she’s back in the nest, FAST ASLEEP!” This satisfying conclusion rounds out a humorous read that’s enhanced throughout the book by Rankin’s energetic watercolor-and-ink illustrations with their sketchy linework and great sense of movement.

A definite hit. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Nov. 20, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-56656-039-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Crocodile/Interlink

Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE AFRICAN ORCHESTRA
by Wendy Hartmann ; illustrated by Joan Rankin

- BOOK REVIEW
THE DINOSAURS ARE BACK
by Wendy Hartmann & Niki Daly & illustrated by Niki Daly

- BOOK REVIEW
ALL THE MAGIC IN THE WORLD
by Wendy Hartmann & illustrated by Niki Daly

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A KISSING HAND FOR CHESTER RACCOON

From the Kissing Hand series

by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...

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A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.

As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
CHESTER RACCOON AND THE ALMOST PERFECT SLEEPOVER
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

- BOOK REVIEW
KAI TO THE RESCUE!
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Mike Yamada

- BOOK REVIEW
A COLOR GAME FOR CHESTER RACCOON
by Audrey Penn & illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

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FIVE BLACK CATS

by Patricia Hegarty ; illustrated by Julia Woolf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013

For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.

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A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.

Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.

For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)