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

Lizzy and the Cloud by The Fan Brothers

"The clouds bobbed gently up and down and with every breath of wind. Some were puffy and round. Others were wispy and almost-not-there. There was a parrot, a rabbit, a fish and an elephant ... But Lizzy wanted an ordinary cloud."

Lizzy names her cloud Milo. He comes with a set of instructions:

1. Name your cloud.

2. Water your cloud daily using only fresh clean water. Failure to do so may result in your cloud evaporating into thin air.

5. Clouds are sensitive and sometimes moody. Thunderstorms are possible if a cloud is unhappy.

6. Never confine a cloud to a small space.

Disclaimer: Seller is not responsible for any water damage due to carelessness or neglect.

Lizzy is so caring of Milo. They go for walks in the sun and Milo really enjoys rainy days too. The trouble is Milo is growing bigger and bigger. Go back and read rule 5. Then read rule 6. 

"Lizzy knew it was time. Milo needed to float free."

"Whenever the weather was cloudy, Lizzy would think of Milo. And if she ever spotted a particularly fluffy cloud, she would wave ... just in case."

When you read this book you need to notice the wonderful architectural details; the quirky photo gallery end papers; the rich vocabulary (gazebos, hosiery, disclaimer, orchids, tantrum, regretful, and confine); and the very detailed page with no text (a silent page that says so much and gives the reader a place to pause and consider what might happen to Lizzy and Milo). You may want to buy a yellow raincoat and yellow rain boots after reading this book and you are certain to take just a little more notice of clouds in the sky - I know I did this for days after reading Lizzy and the Cloud. 

This ending when Lizzy lets Milo go made me think of:

Laura's Star

My Pet Star

Star in the Jar

A tiny part of my soul is in love with The Fan Brothers (can someone tell them I would love to meet them one day - please). My own bookshelves are bulging but I just had to purchase Lizzy and the Cloud to add to my collection. This book should be added to every school library alongside all of the other special books by Eric and Terry Fan. You can see Eric and Terry in this video from their publisher.

Accompanying the text are stunning full-page illustrations that’ll have readers both young and old devouring each luscious detail. Some spreads are in black and white with just a single pop of colour, most often yellow. Others leap off the page with every colour of the rainbow. This shift from one to the other evokes a wide-eyed wonder that’ll keep readers fully engaged in the story. Quill and Quire

The approachable yet heartfelt text beautifully explores a complicated theme: knowing when to let go of something you love. While this concept can often be a painful one, the Fans deftly explore the fulfillment in doing the right thing for something or someone you love by allowing them to move on, and in enjoying the memories of your time together, even when they are bittersweet. The Baby Bookworm

I see this text being used interdisciplinary in reading, science, and art. It will make a wonderful read aloud! ... I’d then use the book in science to discuss the science of clouds–Milo will be a great cloud example! Finally, students could draw their own cloud balloons! Unleashing Readers (note this link has discussion questions)

Here are some other books by The Fan Brothers. I plan to talk about The Barnabus Project very soon:

Ocean Meets Sky

It Fell from the Sky

Here are two other wonderful books about clouds:

Clouds (a very old book but one of my most favourites)

When Cloud became a Cloud

Good Night Firefly by Gabriel Alborozo

Blurb: (spoiler alert) Nina is afraid of the dark. Luckily she has a nightlight, but one night the power goes out. So Nina traps a firefly to keep her company. She has a jolly time with her new friend, until she soon realizes that the firefly doesn't feel the same way, and she must let it go.

Good Night, Firefly delivers a master class in the use of contrast and sparsity in illustration. It is an object lesson in ambience; this book feels quiet, like a house in the dead of night should, and what more could you ask for from a book about a house in the dead of night? Kinder Lit Canada

Good Night Firefly was first published in 2015. One of our Australian online book sellers (as of October 2022) have some copies on sale but you might need to act quickly.  We do have fireflies here in Australia, which is something I did not know. I find the idea of them quite fascinating. Take a look at this post from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything.  Here are some other firefly books I enjoyed reading:

Kirkus add a warning to their review of Good Night Firefly. Readers (perhaps older than the audience for this book) need to be aware that fireflies are in danger.

Yes, fireflies are endangered. Their populations have declined in recent years due to a variety of factors, including habitat loss, pesticide use, and light pollution. While some species of fireflies are still relatively common, others are at risk of extinction. World Animal Foundation

Read more:

Let's celebrate Picture Books

Firefly conservation and research (Firefly.org)

ABC News NSW Mid North Coast, Sept 2021

Margaret's Unicorn by Briony May Smith

Margaret and her parents move to a new home in the countryside. On the first afternoon Margaret sees some unicorns racing through the sky:

'They were leaping into the air, swept up by the wind. And then in the blink, they were gone."

All except one tiny baby unicorn. Margaret carries the precious baby home. Her grandmother explains unicorns only eat flowers. Since it is autumn there are not too many flowers around so they head to the town florist where they pick up beautiful bunches of flowers. 

Unicorns need to drink water that has been touched by moonlight so later that night Margaret and her dad head out with buckets to collect water where the moonlight has touched the stream. 

Have you noticed something truly wonderful here. All of the adults can see the baby unicorn and all of them believe they are real. This is such a point of difference from other books about unicorns.

Time passes and the unicorn grows bigger. In the Spring, the flying unicorns return and it is time for the baby to be reunited with her mother. So this is a book about new friends, care of others and about letting go.

Yes there’s magic in this lyrical tale but never of the sparkly sort; rather it has an earthiness fed by the landscapes and the seasonal changes all around, so beautifully captured in the illustrations, that and the love. Red Reading Hub

The illustrations in Margaret's Unicorn are very special - here is a example from Briony May Smith's Facebook page:

Take a look at other books by Briony May Smith. I love the way the illustration above shows shadows and light. 

Image from the title page -  source: Briony May Smith

When I was a very young child I read a book about a unicorn and I loved it. Fast forward to 2022 and the shops are filled with unicorn "stuff" and lots of fairly ghastly pink and sparkling picture books about unicorns. Thankfully Margaret's Unicorn is nothing like that. Unicorns are every where now. I do love the ones on the main post office building in our city of Sydney. My friend had a birthday party for her one year old grand daughter the other day and the theme and cake were all about unicorns. I did wonder how a one year old baby would even know about unicorns!  

I have a Pinterest collection of Picture Books that feature unicorns (of course there are many more that I could add). Here are some other unicorn books I have talked about on this blog:

The Unicorn in the Barn

The Unicorn Prince

The Christmas Unicorn

A Plague of Unicorns

Eloise and the Bucket of Stars

Oh, and if you are wondering about the unicorn book I read back in the 1960s it was this one: The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. 

Picture book themes - letting go, accepting change

 

I recently read these two books about letting go; about courage; about change; and about risk taking both of which are told through as a parable or fable. At first glance you might think these are books about trees, leaves, seeds and autumn but really they have much deeper themes and they have such contrasting illustration styles.

Little Tree lives in the forest with the other trees. When Autumn begins all of his companions shed their leaves but "he just hugged his leaves tight." Seasons come and go but Little Tree just won't let those leaves go. The forest trees around him grow taller and taller until "one summer, Little Tree could no longer feel the sunlight." Finally he does let go and something miraculous happens. Read more about Little Tree in these review comments:

A strong picture book with an important message that is cleverly told, this book encourages young readers to embrace change and the uncertainties of life. Waking Brain Cells

In Little Tree, Loren so perfectly captures what it means to move on with courage and bravery. ... I believe that everyone, children and adults alike, will bring their own experiences to this book and come away with renewed hope and encouragement that it’s OK to move on and let go. Reading with Mr Teut

In this video Loren Long talks about his book and the deeper themes he wanted to share. 

My second book, Stay Little Seed, was originally published in Italy with the title Chissadove. When the wind blows all the seeds fly away - north, south and "even who knows where." But one tiny seed stayed. The tree and the seed form a relationship with the tree protecting the little seed until one morning a magpie plucks the seed off the tree. Luckily the magpie drops the seed. The tiny seed is not "who knows where" it is very close and over time it grows into a new sapling. Read more about Stay, Little Seed in these review comments:

Stay, Little Seed celebrates the rhythms of the natural world and shares a gentle message for all of us, no matter our age: Sometimes, by letting go and being brave, we begin life’s greatest adventures. A Book and a Hug

Careful nurturing begets the launch into the unknown: Valentini celebrates both as natural and fitting. Kirkus

Cristiana Valentini comes from Italy and Philip Giordano lives in Japan. You can see the whole book here.