Fly, Chick, Fly! by Jeanne Willis illustrated by Tony Ross

"If I fly, a crow might get me. If I fly, the rain might wet me. If I fly, a train might hit me. My sister flew and never came back. Why would I want to fly?"

Her sister flew and never came back. Her brother flew away and never came back. The parents keep trying to explain her siblings are not far away and that all baby birds must eventually fly away from the nest. 

"So the last chick left the nest. She crept to the end of the branch. She flapped. She flipped. She flopped. And this time ... she flew!"

The last chick does find her own hollow tree. The last chick builds her own nest and in time, the last chick has a chick of her own!

The repetitive, alliterative poem and realistic pictures work together to tell the story. Ross' illustrations vary in size and placement on the white pages. Done with pastels on a textured base, they show barn owls with endearing, heart-shaped faces. Kirkus

This is a perfect book for a young child and it should be part of all preschool library collections. Sadly it was published in 2012 so it is long out of print. I dream of the day someone asks for submissions of books that should be reprinted. This is one I would put forward.

I saw this book in the library I visit each week and I knew it would be fabulous because of this particular combination of author - Jeanne Willis - and illustrator - Tony Ross. I have loved some of their previous collaborations.

Mayfly Day

Boa's Bad Birthday

Companion books to read with Fly, Chick, Fly:

Puffling

Lucy Goosey

Almost Anything

Little Tree