Sonya's Chickens

Starred review from October 1, 2015

K-Gr 2-Sonya's dad gives her three tiny chickens to raise on their farm, telling her that she is responsible for keeping them happy and making sure they have full bellies and a warm place to sleep. She does her job well, and soon the chickens become full-grown hens. When one of them is killed by a fox looking for food to feed his family, her father explains that the fox father had to care for his kits, just as he himself cared for Sonya and she cared for her chicks. The family holds a funeral for the hen, and Sonya is further comforted when she discovers a brown egg in the henhouse hatching, so she soon has a new baby chick to care for. This lesson of the interdependence among all living things in nature is gently told, accompanied by colorful watercolor and collage illustrations that show the multicultural family's life on a farm. At the end, Sonya is cuddling her new chick and showing her little brother how to provide for its care. The story presents the circle of life in a very comforting but realistic manner. The bright pictures do not mince matters: one shows the fox with the hen in his mouth but the next balances it with him curled up protectively in his den with the kits. VERDICT Most libraries will want to include this lovely book in their picture book collections.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 15, 2015
A father's thoughtful explanation provides a helpful perspective for a child's loss. Sonya is bereft when a fox takes one of the three chickens she's cared for like a mother, but her papa comforts her with the idea that the fox is also trying to feed his family. Her family acknowledges Sonya's grief with a small ceremony, and the child and her chickens move on. There's an old-fashioned feel to this simple story and its timeless illustrations, created with watercolor, collage, and colored pencil and reminiscent of Goodnight Moon in mood, design, and palette. Inside, Sonya's house is cozy and dark. In contrast, the world outside shines white, as background to text, with vignettes or a frame or portion of the opposite image spilling across the gutter. A warm scene of Sonya's mixed-race family having dinner together is mirrored later on by one with the fox curled up with its kits, each family shown opposite a page with an egg-shaped text frame. Both words and illustrations emphasize comfort and the security a family can provide. But this is also a realistic description of chicken care, including preparing, cleaning, and repairing the coop, feeding the chickens, and making sure they have water and fresh straw-even finding eggs. A reassuring story about death in the natural world, thoughtfully designed and illustrated. (Picture book. 4-8)

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