January 15, 2023
Three little chicks go out into the world. This sweet, simple book will support young readers' book-handling and sequencing skills. The first spread shows one chick on the far-right side of the recto, as if leading readers to turn the page. Meanwhile, the other two chicks are still on the verso in the tiny house they share with their chicken parents. The house is depicted in a cross section that shows a hen and a rooster sitting on the top floor while the other two chicks head toward the open door on the first floor to follow their sibling toward the page turn. Ensuing spreads show the chicks running left to right across the pages, passing other birds, going through the rain, and even pausing occasionally. While spare text stays focused solely on the chicks' progression, other bird characters and details in the colorful, smudgy illustrations invite conversation about what the chicks observe and experience as they doggedly make their way through the book. Near the end, the chicks board a bus for the last leg of their journey before hopping off to run home to their parents. Illustrations now move right to left across the spreads, a design decision that lets the layout convey the structure of the narrative. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A charming tale and wonderful introduction to books for the littlest readers. (Board book. 0-3)
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
March 1, 2023
Toddler-PreS-In very few spreads, Gomi's illustrations, like stained glass or torn tissue, show three orange chicks leaving home, on their way to the adventure of a lifetime. What do they learn? The world is big and scary; home is best. Simplicity has always been this creator's hallmark, and toddlers who may have worried over the sight of chicks in a bus heading out of town will relax as they see them heading back into the wings of their parents. VERDICT So simple, so clean in design and message, but what an emotional wallop. Leave this one on a low shelf for preschoolers, too.
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
March 13, 2023
With his signature simple text and rich graphic style, Gomi presents a brief tale of three little chicks who head out for a day of adventure in this cheerful board book. The wide-eyed, yellow siblings “run energetically” across green fields and then in the rain, all under the watchful gaze of an orange bird who follows them, feathered neighbors, and an anthropomorphic sun and storm cloud. After running and resting and running again, the chicks hide from a predator overhead (“They run and then stay very still”), and even hop a ride on a brightly checkered bus before finally speeding “all the way home” to their parents’ waiting wings. Saturated blocks of color pop against crisp white space, creating a bucolic storyscape for the momentum-driven proceedings, which may encourage readers to imagine additional outings for the chipper chicks. Ages up to 3.