Product Description

Spend a wonderful day with Little Chick in these three enchanting stories from master storyteller Amy Hest and award-winning illustrator Anita Jeram.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!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3682179 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 56 pages

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 2—The creator of Baby Duck presents three short adventures that brim with childlike concerns and solutions. Little Chick impatiently waits for her carrot to grow and then finally pulls it, finds a way to make her kite fly, and accepts that she cannot catch her favorite star and put it in her pocket. The protagonist, like many youngsters, wants what she wants immediately, but her understanding and wise Old-Auntie is always there to ease life's disappointments. The text is gentle, affectionate, and child-centered with some lovely turns of phrase and on-target dialogue. The stories become repetitive by the end, but that fact likely makes them more reassuring and appealing to the intended audience. Jeram's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations shine. Little Chick is so perfectly childlike—lying on her back holding her toes when she has to wait, leaning on Old-Auntie when things get too hard, or hanging her head dejectedly when her kite won't fly. Readers will empathize simply by looking at her. Old-Auntie is large and comforting yet distinctively birdlike, and the pages are nicely varied, mixing spot sequences with single- and double-page paintings. From the green-checked endpapers to the blue-washed star-filled sky on the final spread, Little Chick is a joy to behold and will find a treasured place in most collections.—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
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From Booklist
Hest, who might be best known for her books about Baby Duck, here takes as her heroine a chick, who restlessly wants things she can’t have. The book is divided into three chapters. In the first, Little Chick is waiting for her carrot plant to grow tall, but little seems to happen. Old-Auntie hen notes that small carrots can be as good as tall ones, so Chick pulls her carrot from the ground and admires it for its beauty. Stories like this usually counsel patience, so although this is an interesting twist, it may confuse kids. The second story is about Chick’s frustrations in learning to fly a kite, and the last shows Little Chick reaching for a star she’d like to put in her pocket, even as Old-Auntie notes that no matter how good a “stretcher” she is, sometimes stars are prettiest in the sky. The book is handsomely designed, but the soft watercolor spreads of the hen and chick do get a bit repetitive. For the youngest, who may have their own opinions on wants and needs, though, this does open the doorway for discussions. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Ilene Cooper

About the Author
Amy Hest was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. She worked as a children's librarian and then in the children's book publishing industry for many years. Today, Amy is an author of more than thirty books for young readers. Two of her books, When Jessie Came Across the Sea, illustrated by P.J. Lynch, and Kiss Good Night, Sam, were awarded the Christopher Medal. Kiss Good Night, Sam was also a New York Times bestseller. Anita Jeram was born in Portsmouth in 1965 and worked in a variety of jobs after leaving school before becoming a children's book illustrator. She now lives in Northern Ireland with her husband, three kids and a menagerie of animals and hopes to set up her own wildlife sanctuary. She is best known for her illustrations for the book Guess How Much I Love You which is now one of the world's best-selling picture books.

Customer Reviews

This is an endearing book your little ones will want you to read again and again!
Little chicks sometimes have a hard time with things they don't understand, but fortunately Little Chick had a wise Old-Auntie who was always willing to give some affection and advice. It's a good thing because otherwise she wouldn't have anyone to help her get through her problems. One day she went to her garden to look at a carrot she was growing. "It did not grow. They waited some more ... and some more ... and still it did not grow." Little Chick looked quite discouraged as she nestled under Old-Auntie's wing, but not for long. Wise Old-Auntie gently leaned over to Little Chick and whispered to her ... something that would make her feel much better.

One day Little Chick made a kite out of some string and an old leaf. Try as she may, that kite would not lift into the sky. Old-Auntie praised and encouraged her and later Little Chick leaned on her. Another day, when night was approaching, Little Chick looked up into the sky and "stretched and stretched, trying to catch her star." Try as she may, she wasn't able to catch that star to put in her pocket. She was very sad and once again nestled up against Old-Auntie. Maybe she could help her out once again!

This is a series of three stories that, depending on the child or audience, can be read all at once or at different times. Each story is unique, but each one carries the theme of the dependence of the young on their older, more experienced and wiser elder. The watercolors were simply darling and showed the affection between Little Chick and Old-Auntie. It's really a special thing to have someone like Old-Auntie in your life, isn't it?

Adorable Collection

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.

Review from www.firrkids.com
Just in time for Easter, the perfect choice for your basket. You can't beat a great chick book! We are always on the lookout for great non-candy alternatives. It's a certainty that kids will love this sweet book as much a chocolate bunny. Well, nearly as much.

We find not just one, but three short stories within, centered around the farm life of fuzzy Little Chick: The Carrot That Would Not Grow, The Kite That Would Not Fly and The Starry Night. The storyline on each is not fancy, but rather simple and straightforward. Although the stories are engaging, it is the illustrations by Anita Jeram that completely steal the show. The lovable Little Chick will have you eating out of her hand, er, wing?

The story titles are pretty self-explanatory. Little Chick is growing a carrot that is terribly tempting and yet incredibly slow moving. How can she speed up the process? Soon after, she makes an excellent kite from a dried leaf, but cannot get it airborne, until Old-Auntie offers some assistance. The last story has Little Chick reaching up very high in the sky, trying to pull down a star. She decides to give up when she realizes the sky is prettier when it includes her star.

If there is a more appealing chick book, it certainly has not crossed my desk. Sized at ten inches square, this is a wonderfully large book, with 56 pages. Even the first page is adorable, with a welcoming pale green plaid print and a nice preprinted "The Little Chick book belongs to" bookplate. The simple stories and beautiful drawings make this a book you will find yourself returning to again and again.