Book: Where, Oh Where, Is Rosie's Chick?
Author: Pat Hutchins
Pages: 32
Age Range: 4-8Where, Oh Where, Is Rosie's Chick? is the sequel to Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins. The first book was published back in 1971 and is still in print. My daughter's kindergarten class did an activity centered around Rosie's Walk last semester. When my daughter saw this book she was thrilled.
Both books feature a kind of slapstick humor in which a hapless chicken walks through a farm yard, blissfully unaware of being followed. In this new book, Rosie is looking for her just-hatched chick. She marches all through the farm, never realizing (until the end of the book) that her chick is actually behind her. Meanwhile, various predators attempt to snatch the chick, but are unsuccessful due to accidental interventions. For instance, when Rosie knocks some apples out of a wheelbarrow, she kicks one of them right into the mouth of a large fish that might have swallowed up the chick. These near-misses offer spot-on preschooler-friendly humor.
The actual text of Where, Oh Where, Is Rosie's Chick? is straightforward and minimalist. Like this;
"She looks in the basket,
but here little baby chick isn't there."
(next page spread)
She looks behind the wheelbarrow,
but her little baby chick isn't there, either."
This repetitive text lends itself to reading by themselves for kids in kindergarten and first grade. When reading the book to a child, it's a bit difficult to get into a rhythm because one wants to stop and point out the various additional things that are going on in the pictures. ("Where is the chick?" "Who is that watching the chick?" "What do you think that animal will do?", and so on.)
The illustrations are gorgeous, filled with brightly colored patterns and cheerful farm trappings. It's like an Amish quilt of a picture book, if that makes any sense. Rosie's obliviousness and her chick's hapless but determined following with both appeal to young readers. Even the apparent predators turn out to be rather friendly, as the fox is revealed to be a parent, too.
Parents who loved Rosie's Walk (currently available in paper and board book formats) as children will not want to miss out on the chance to share Where, Oh Where, Is Rosie's Chick? with their kids. These two books together would also make a nice addition to a kindergarten or preschool classroom library. Recommended and sure to please!
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (@SimonKids)
Publication Date: August 30, 2016
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
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