Review by Booklist Review
The Chinese proverb "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" can also be applied to writing. One winter day, a young boy decides he wants to write a story and gathers paper, pencils, and a snack. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that writing is not as easy as simply wanting to write. After several failed attempts and with drafts littering the floor, he considers giving up and just settling for reading other people's stories. But his desire to create is too strong. While gazing out the window, the child watches a chickadee take only one seed, fly to a branch, eat it, and return to the feeder for another. Understanding that eating like that requires much time, patience, and tenacity, the child decides to model that behavior and tries again to write his tale by putting down just one word at a time. Hopkinson ends her tale and encourages readers to write their own story entitled "The Chickadee" by offering example sentences for the beginning, middle, and end. Charming illustrations-- made using pen, ink, and paint, and completed on Photoshop--are delightful to pore over. Observant readers will see the small black-and-white bird and the pinecone feeder that are clearly visible from the child's window and enjoy watching the antics of the boy's faithful canine sidekick.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A spare lyricism pervades this poetic picture book about writing by Hopkinson, which follows a light brown--skinned child attempting to pen a story on a snowy day. Arriving at a cottage with physical objects ("a pencil or two,/ a big eraser,/ your favorite pencil sharpener,/ and a snack") and metaphysical attributes ("your mind and heart,/ your endless curiosity), the child shucks off their winter clothing and sits down in front of a window to write, a dog at their side. As the child experiences writing struggles ("nothing much happens") and inspiration ("And that's when you notice.../ ...the chickadee"), Hooper's doodle-esque illustrations, rendered in pen, ink, and paint and finished digitally, show the process against ample white space. A gentle, luminous exploration for aspiring writers. Back matter features a guide for readers to begin their own stories, and a link to more information on black-capped chickadees. Ages 4--8. (Nov.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4--This poetic narrative, with quiet, thoughtful illustrations, depicts a young boy in winter trying to find the right words to start a story. Voiced in the second person, the sequence of events will feel utterly familiar to writers of any age and especially reassuring to new, young ones as they watch how finding ideas takes time and focus. Uncluttered spaces between text lines and illustrated elements within the boy's room match the purposeful pauses from the task at hand: the boy gets a snack, reads other stories, and doodles as he waits for words to come.The white, gold, and blue-toned colors lightly infuse the careful, penned outlines of the spare walls, crumpled papers, and cheerful, pensive expressions flitting across the boy's face as he thinks. Inspiration strikes unexpectedly, as a small form flits outside the boy's snowy window, echoing how, little by little, authors' words can piece together a tale experienced or imagined from their own point of view. Hopkinson's words gently encourage readers to remember that this craft takes patience, but also how there is something remarkable about finding your unique voice. VERDICT A comforting read for anyone who writes and a precise, essential "hook" book for elementary writing lessons, this book will ease young scribes into their next story.--Rachel Mulligan, Westampton, NJ
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In an inviting second-person, present-tense voice, Hopkinson (Butterflies Belong Here, rev. 1/21; We Must Not Forget, rev. 3/21) captures a writer's struggle to kick-start a narrative: "You arrive with a pencil or two" as well as "all the invisible things that make you...you." Hooper (Two Brothers, Four Hands, rev. 3/19; The Elephants Come Home, rev. 7/21) depicts a child who comes in from the snow to a cozy interior and promptly sits down at a table by the window to write -- but nothing comes. Frustrated, the child falls prey to distractions (reading favorite books, chomping on cookies). Suddenly, from the window the child spots a chickadee, determinedly working to feed itself by plucking seeds from a feeder. The writer, feeling encouraged, understands that it's time to return to the empty page. Just as the bird patiently worked seed by seed, with great concentration, writers must start by focusing on merely "one word. And then another." Hooper's illustrations in a wintry palette of cool blues capture the child's lively facial expressions and ever-changing body language. In one striking spread, she brings readers an inverted view of the chickadee; it hangs upside down from the feeder, but we see it right-side up, so the image of the child watching from the window is flipped. Hopkinson's story about a story, which closes with a writing prompt (about a chickadee, no less) is genuinely inspiring, a tutorial on writer's block that never patronizes the child readers at whom it's aimed. Julie Danielson January/February 2022 p.86(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A child slowly blossoms into a writer. Addressed by an adult's second-person voice, "You," a beige-skinned child with choppy black hair, in brown pants and a dark striped sweater, are trying to write a story. "You bring your heart and mind, your endless curiosity, and a deep longing to create, to write, to say something about the world--to tell a story." Of course there's writer's block, distractions, and the grinding feeling of I-can't-do-this, but after the child, still "you," observes a chickadee patiently and painstakingly plucking individual seeds from a bird feeder, the idea of crafting a story one word at a time inspires the character to persevere. The didactic, inspirational, quiet tone makes this an appropriate choice for a teacher, librarian, or educator introducing a creative writing unit, but it's not, sadly, an engaging tale for a wide audience of young readers. The bold use of you to refer to a very specific child, as well as a very particular kind of experience--a house with a bird feeder, snow outside, the desire to express oneself through writing--narrows rather than broadens the appeal, as some readers may bristle at being told untrue things about themselves. A page of prompts encouraging readers to write their own stories about a chickadee appears at the end along with a website about the bird. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Well crafted but of limited utility. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
