As the sun sets, she's off to bed in the hen house, and when she wakes, to her sudden surprise ... no eggs.
What wrong? Is she sick? She asks sheep to fetch duck, who presumes chick's eggs are stuck. Duck squeezes chick. Chick wheezes.
No eggs.
Goose chimes in, suggesting an upside down shaking. Chick develops wobbly legs. But no eggs.
Cow suggests more food. Goat suggests a water-dunking. Then along comes snake. With a cunning plan. I wonder if you can imagine what it might be.
I absolutely love this book. Quirky, funny, with fabulous rhyme that works so very well, this is riotous fun for young kids yet will also be appreciated by older readers for its superlative rhythm and joy.
But the best best best thing of all, is the ending. Oh boy, I love a really good ending. So few picture books have them (amazingly) and this one is just brilliant.
White-bordered pages make the illustrations in this book pop out with cookie cutter delight (though with two illustrators, I'm intrigued as to who did which parts!). The imagery is clean, simple and immensely pleasing to the eye. It also perfectly captures the action and humour of one of the best toddler books of 2013.
Don't miss it.
Title: Chick's Sick!
Author: Kyle Mewburn
Illustrator: Ali Teo and John O'Reilly
Publisher: Scholastic, $15.99 RRP
Publication Date: 1 December 2013
Format: Softcover
ISBN: 9781775431220
For ages: 2 - 5
Type: Picture Book
