Review by Booklist Review
PreS. The illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book Have You See My Ducklings? 0 (1984) returns to the farmyard in this cozy picture book about a big mother hen and her five newly hatched chicks. Using the simplest words about sound and movement, she describes the chicks' search for food ("Peep! What can we eat?"), as each chick in turn spies a fat wiggly worm, a spotted crawly bug, a fuzzy butterfly, a red strawberry, a swimming trout--until wise Mama Hen finally shows them how to run to the corn patch and scratch, scratch, scratch, and peck. Created with brush pen, watercolor pencils, and ink, the gorgeous double-page spreads, in warm shades of red, yellow, and brown,\b \b0 manage to be both clear and fuzzy, simple and rich--from the opening illustration picturing the hatchlings to the final view of the chicks in Mama's encircling embrace, when "It's time to snuggle and cuddle and sleep." A good choice to pair with Margaret Wise Brown's classic, Good Night Moon.0 --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Mama Hen knows best. When her five newborn chicks are hungry, they eye delicacies too big for their diminutive stomachs. The first fluffy yellow chick "with a little squirm,/ spied a fat wiggly worm." The fifth chick, "with a little pout,/ saw a long shiny trout." But the hen, a striking matriarch with burnished orange feathers and a bright red hood and wattle, firmly steers her brood's attention to the corn patch, where they can "scratch, scratch, scratch" until the sun goes down. "Let's not make a peep!" admonishes Mama Hen as her chicks tuck under her feathery girth after a hard day's pecking. "It's time to snuggle and cuddle and sleep." This simple little story proves once again why Tafuri (I Love You, Little One) is a favorite with youngsters. Her full-bleed spreads exude a sense of artistic generosity: the tiny details within the large inviting shapes, and her sunny colors invite children to savor the action. Big, bold typography, a simple text and the incorporation of the word "Peep" into the pictures may even encourage nascent readers to pick out a word or two. Ages 2-5. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-As day breaks, five newly hatched and hungry chicks run around the farmyard looking for something to eat. Each one finds a possible meal-a worm, a ladybug, a strawberry, a butterfly, a trout-but none is just right until wise Mama Hen leads her hatchlings to the corn patch where they learn to "scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch." Told rhythmically and partially in rhyme, this simple story ends with the babes cuddling up near their mama as the moon comes up. Done in brush pen, watercolor pencils, and ink, Tafuri's endearing illustrations sweep across the pages, presenting an intensely close-up view of the chicks and the action. Though the tale is slight, the youngest listeners will delight in the art featuring almost life-size fowl, and beginning readers will find the text easy to manage.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
After each of her five newly hatched chicks hazards a rhymed guess as to what they can eat (strawberries? butterflies? trout?), Mama Hen leads them to a corn patch, where they happily peck the day away. A concluding bedtime scene feels tacked on, but everything else here--including Tafuri's sun-drenched outdoor scenes--will pass muster with who matters: the toddler contingent. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Big bright pictures and big bold print tell the story of the first day of life for the title characters. The first two chicks are just breaking out of their shells as the text declares, "Once there were . . . " and continues in a style reminiscent of "Over in the Meadow." This and subsequent illustrations provide ample opportunity for chick-counting by young listeners. It's a day of discovery for the five chicks, a worm, a ladybug and a butterfly (fluttering by), as well as a vine of strawberries and a shiny trout in a clear stream. Then Mama Hen leads them through a scratching lesson in the corn patch. Finally, all snuggle and soundly sleep on a bed of hay, a full moon shining above. Tafuri's oversized illustrations make this an attractive if unexceptional adventure, especially for the lower end of its targeted age range. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
