Little Chicks (Taro Gomi)

“thoroughly charming . . . sure to become a bedtime favorite.”

Taro Gomi has a series of appealing board books geared to the smallest hands. Little Chicks features his usual simple shapes, bright colors, and simple text. It’s a sweet story of chicks running, running, running “all the way home,” with various short detours on the way. Toddlers will have clouds and rain they can point out, plus a smiling sun, always favorites.

The only confusing page is where “They run and then stay very still.” Above them, a hawk or eagle flies, some kind of large bird with a sharp beak. That part is clear. But the big bird holds a tube dangling from its talons. What is the tube for? Scooping up little chicks? Is it a tube or a log? What, in fact, is it supposed to be? Young readers will surely ask, and parents will be forced to invent an answer, since the drawing doesn’t make it clear.

But that’s one small stumble in an otherwise thoroughly charming book. This is a story that will be read over and over. The tale of little ones exploring the world and coming home safely resonates with both little chicks and little children. An ending where parents can hug their little ones and show them how snug home is sure to become a bedtime favorite.