Flora and the Chicks

Starred review from January 30, 2017
Idle brings her balletic heroine Flora to a younger audience in this nearly wordless board book that finds the girl struggling to keep up with a nestful of hatching chickens. As the book counts up to 10 (the numbers are the book’s only text, other than “The End”), children can open page-size flaps to follow the unfolding action. Clad in red overalls and a kerchief, Flora is as graceful as ever, lunging and dipping with élan as she gathers up the not-easily-gathered chicks, whose first steps and tussles offer gentle laughs throughout. Count on multiple readings. Up to age 3. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

Starred review from July 1, 2017
Flora, the animal-loving star of a wordless trio of picture books, makes her board-book debut by counting chicks as they hatch. On every other double-page spread, one or two gatefold flaps unveil an extended scene as the little white girl and the chicks play together. The number of babies increases with each turn of a page or a relatively sturdy flap, revealing chicks of a variety of colors, from classic yellow to deep brown. This offering is wordless as well, but a numeral floats on the matte-white backgrounds as each one of the eggs hatches. Idle's skill at capturing balletic body language, both of Flora and of the hatchlings, is in top form here. In smooth, rounded swaths of muted colors, the youngster and the chicks chase and cavort in wonderfully comic scenes; one chick emerges from an egg feet first, another can't seem to dislodge a shell from its head, and a third dances with a coveted worm. The mama hen, who appeared at the beginning of the action and promptly exited to the left, returns on the penultimate and final spreads to round off the counting exercise to 10. These chicks are an adorable brood. Here's hoping Flora and an array of beasties will be appearing in the flaps of more board books soon. (Board book. 1-3)

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Starred review from August 1, 2017

PreS-With the latest offerings starring the beloved Flora, Idle tackles the concepts of counting and opposites. Donning a yellow kerchief and a pair of red overalls in Chicks, Flora attempts to keep track of a bevy of chickens as they hatch and cavort around the farmyard. Readers will enjoy counting the chicks as page by page they increase in number. Flora displays moves that would earn the admiration of any ballerina, performing jetes and plies as she corrals the wayward chicks. In Ostrich, Flora befriends the long-necked bird. Wearing a purple, lace-trimmed romper and holding a yellow umbrella, the little girl is the perfect visual match for the feathered animal, but the shy ostrich is initially skeptical. As Flora tries to say "hello," the ostrich buries its head in the sand ("goodbye"). After a misunderstanding, Flora kneels in the foreground looking somber ("near") while in the background the ostrich nervously gazes at her ("far"), but eventually the two forge a strong bond. Gentle pastel hues pop against the white space, and the author/illustrator makes artful use of the gutter. Idle's characters, girl and birds alike, are wonderfully expressive, and the images have a timeless quality. Though the foldout pages may not survive numerous checkouts, they're enchanting, offering readers many delightful surprises. VERDICT Must-haves for any board book collection.-Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

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