Review: Little Chick

Summary: How Little Chick longs for her carrot to grow tall, for her kite to fly high, to be able to reach up and take her star from the sky. But her carrot is small, her kite bobs along on the ground and she can't stretch up far enough to touch her star. Sometimes things just don't turn out quite the way you want them to. But, as Old-Auntie shows Little Chick, there is just as much wonder in things that are small and far away – if you only look! -- Walker Books

LITTLE CHICK by Amy Hest, with pictures by Anita Jeram is such a charming little book for toddlers and preschoolers. When my four year old son saw this book, we had to read it right away. He was immediately drawn to the cute picture of the "little chick" on the cover.

I was surprised to see that this picture book was actually made up of three separate little stories -- The Carrot That Would Not Grow, The Kite That Would Not Fly, and The Starry Night. Each story was just a few pages, and my son had no problem paying attention to all three stories at one sitting. He loved all three stories, but his favorite was the one about the carrot -- I think that's because his daddy has a garden. I liked that even if you have an active toddler who doesn't normally sit well for books (like my daughter was), you can still read one of the chapters quickly and complete the story.

This book was very appealing to me and my son. The pictures were just precious and there were weren't many words per page. There illustrations were simple, and yet there still was a lot to see on each page. I especially loved Little Chick and all of his expressions. And my little guy couldn't stop giggling when he saw the pictures of the "leaf kite."

I also liked the messages that were in this book -- that sometimes things don't always work out for you. Not only did Little Chick realize that his carrot didn't look exactly like he wanted and that it was okay, but he also learned that patience is important. The Old-Auntie hen was a terrific teacher to Little Chick and was always teaching her valuable life lessons like how to look at things a little differently. I think these themes are very important for children today, and I love how this book gives parents the opportunity to discuss them with their child.

Thanks to Walker Books and The Picnic Basket for sending me a review copy of LITTLE CHICK.