Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

Old-Auntie the hen, endlessly patient, marvelously kind, helps Little Chick deal with frustration in three stories. As depicted in Jeram's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Guess How Much I Love You) watercolor washes, Old-Auntie's feathered bulk dwarfs Little Chick, and her gestures—holding Little Chick between her wings for a kiss, bending down to peer at her when she's discouraged—are infused with tenderness. Old-Auntie helps Little Chick deal with her eagerness to harvest the carrot she planted; helps Little Chick endure the long wait until her kite finally flies; and assures Little Chick that the star in the night sky that she wants is better off staying just where it is (“I'm afraid the sky just wouldn't be the same without your star,” she says, her big feathery wing looped through Little Chick's spindly one). Hest's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Kiss Good Night) light humor and Jeram's visual charm work as harmoniously together as Little Chick and Old-Auntie themselves. Ages 2–up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Mar.)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Fri May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

PreS-Gr 2 The creator of Baby Duck presents three short adventures that brim with childlike concerns and solutions. Little Chick impatiently waits for her carrot to grow and then finally pulls it, finds a way to make her kite fly, and accepts that she cannot catch her favorite star and put it in her pocket. The protagonist, like many youngsters, wants what she wants immediately, but her understanding and wise Old-Auntie is always there to ease life's disappointments. The text is gentle, affectionate, and child-centered with some lovely turns of phrase and on-target dialogue. The stories become repetitive by the end, but that fact likely makes them more reassuring and appealing to the intended audience. Jeram's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations shine. Little Chick is so perfectly childlikelying on her back holding her toes when she has to wait, leaning on Old-Auntie when things get too hard, or hanging her head dejectedly when her kite won't fly. Readers will empathize simply by looking at her. Old-Auntie is large and comforting yet distinctively birdlike, and the pages are nicely varied, mixing spot sequences with single- and double-page paintings. From the green-checked endpapers to the blue-washed star-filled sky on the final spread, Little Chick is a joy to behold and will find a treasured place in most collections. Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

ALA Booklist (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Hest, who might be best known for her books about Baby Duck, here takes as her heroine a chick, who restlessly wants things she can't have. The book is divided into three chapters. In the first, Little Chick is waiting for her carrot plant to grow tall, but little seems to happen. Old-Auntie hen notes that small carrots can be as good as tall ones, so Chick pulls her carrot from the ground and admires it for its beauty. Stories like this usually counsel patience, so although this is an interesting twist, it may confuse kids. The second story is about Chick's frustrations in learning to fly a kite, and the last shows Little Chick reaching for a star she'd like to put in her pocket, even as Old-Auntie notes that no matter how good a "stretcher" she is, sometimes stars are prettiest in the sky. The book is handsomely designed, but the soft watercolor spreads of the hen and chick do get a bit repetitive. For the youngest, who may have their own opinions on wants and needs, though, this does open the doorway for discussions.

Horn Book (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

In three affectionate vignettes, patient Old-Auntie hen skillfully guides Little Chick through potential disappointments when her carrot won't grow, her kite won't fly, and she can't stretch high enough to catch the night sky's first star. Suffused with gentle humor and tenderness, the simple text and delicate pencil and watercolor illustrations in springtime shades have a perfect rapport.

Kirkus Reviews

Does the world need another charming picture book about an adorable baby chick? Maybe not, but that won't keep young listeners from loving this sunny set of three brief vignettes. Veteran writer Hest packs plenty of emotion and humor into the deceptively simple text as she brings to life Little Chick's enthusiasm and impatience as well as her wise Old-Auntie's love and counsel. The author manages the delicate task of tempering Little Chick's outsized expectations without crushing her spirit, a feat that may be more valued (or at least noticed) by adults than kids. Adult readers will likely also appreciate that whether she's wishing her carrot would grow bigger faster, working hard to raise her leaf-kite into the sky or stretching to pluck a star from the sky, Little Chick remains genuinely childlike without being cloyingly sweet or precociously clever. Jeram's loose, sketchy illustrations, created in pencil and watercolor, keep the two main characters front and center while providing just enough detail of the pleasant, pastoral setting. Warmly familiar and enchantingly fresh. (Picture book. 3-6)