Where, Oh Where, Is Rosie's Chick?

June 6, 2016
In 1968’s Rosie’s Walk, celebrated for its combination of deadpan sentences and suspenseful imagery, Hutchins pictured a clueless chicken tailed by a luckless fox. This sequel revisits Rosie, still just as dotty, who is making her way across a barnyard in search of her just-hatched chick. Readers will notice right away that the chick is disguised, its head covered by half an eggshell with only its orange legs and yellow midsection visible. As Rosie bumbles along (“Where is her little baby chick?”), she drops the henhouse gate on a pouncing cat and knocks an apple into the jaws of a sharp-toothed fish, inadvertently saving her oblivious chick from peril. At last mother and child get together, observed by the original book’s fox and its own little one. Hutchins reprises her hand-drawn style and autumnal palette, with the action unspooling across the lower margin of the spreads against a backdrop of orchards and haystacks. This mild continuation stays so true to Rosie’s Walk that it could’ve easily been published a few years after that book, instead of almost 50. Ages 4–8.

June 1, 2016
Hutchins hatches a sequel to her 1968 classic, Rosie's Walk.When Rosie's chick begins hatching, she excitedly calls the other hens and chicks to meet it--"But oh, no! Where is her baby chick?" Some readers will figure out that the chick is hidden in half its shell, its hatched feet buried in the straw, but this crucial detail may be difficult to discern. At the page turn, the other hens disappear, and a cat bats at the half-hatched chick as it leaves the henhouse. Hapless, oblivious Rosie's back is turned as she looks for the chick. A slapstick search ensues, with Rosie doggedly walking from left to right, unaware of the eggshell-topped chick scurrying behind her as it narrowly escapes predators at every turn. When a fox shows up (because of course one does) it, too, is looking for its baby, and they are reunited at the same moment that the other hens show Rosie where her chick is. At the book's end, "Rosie and her little baby chick go for a walk" with the foxes gazing after them. Fans of the earlier title will be pleased by the familiar farmyard setting and characters, thought the palette seems a bit brighter and the technique a bit more polished and cartoonish than in the original. Where have you been all these years, Rosie? Welcome back, and hello to your little chick. (Picture book. 3-5)

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Starred review from July 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 1-When Rosie the hen finally hatches an egg, she cannot find her baby chick. She looks everywhere, and all the while, her chick is looking for her-sort of. Baby chick is still wearing half of his shell over his head and walking around blindly. Rosie does not even recognize him, but an unfriendly fox does and begins following close behind. The captivating illustrations are like a bright quilt of colors and patterns, with humor tucked in for observant readers. The text alone is not sufficient to tell this easy story. Readers will see the dangers and want to warn the chick and try to convince Rosie to turn around to find her baby. But all ends well. This would be a great choice for sharing during the changing seasons. VERDICT A charming sequel to the classic Rosie's Walk and an appealing read-aloud for all collections.-Mary Hazelton, formerly at Warren & Waldoboro Elementary Schools, ME

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