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Summary
Summary
A poetic text and wonderfully intimate photographs follow a newborn sandhill crane as it takes its first steps into the world.
Will my legs hold me?
What if I fall?
Peek in as a sandhill crane hatchling makes its first wobbly stand and takes its first steps alongside its brother. With their parents close by, they flap their wings and dance before enjoying a buggy treat. Someday they will fly with the majestic cranes overhead, but for now, Mama's soft feathers beckon. With a lyrical narrative and lovely photo illustrations, this latest venture from an acclaimed creative team makes a perfect new baby gift -- and will appeal to bird lovers, too.
Author Notes
Helen Frost is the author of Step Gently Out, Sweep Up the Sun, Among a Thousand Fireflies, and Wake Up! She is also the author of the novel in poems Applesauce Weather and many other award-winning books for children and young adults. Helen Frost lives in Indiana.
Rick Lieder is the photographer for Step Gently Out , Sweep Up the Sun , Among a Thousand Fireflies, and Wake Up! He is also a painter and illustrator. Rick Lieder lives in Michigan.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-A sandhill crane chick encounters the world. This author-illustrator pair have teamed up for a number of beautiful celebrations of the natural world, but this might be the most enchanting one yet. Striking photographs taken in the marshy world where cranes nest accompany Frost's short poem. Lieder's close-up images show very young crane chicks and their caring parents. They capture expressive poses and remarkable details: the newly hatched chick's long feet are wildly out of proportion to the rest of its fluffy body, its legs are wrinkled, and water drips off wet, clumped down. The narrative opens with a title page image of a crane on its nest in the marsh already talking to the chicks in their eggs. Back matter tells readers that there are usually two chicks, one slightly bigger than the other, and sure enough, in the poem, the just-hatched chick finds his brother (appearing after an artful page turn). There's gentle mention of threats and food. In a spread that might most remind adult readers of toddler behavior, the chick seems to stretch his neck to watch and wonder at adult cranes flying. The home-away-from-home narrative arc ends perfectly with a nap on "Mama's strong wings." These simple abcb quatrains scan beautifully-a good thing, since this will likely be requested over and over. VERDICT Perfectly matched text and images make this a grand entrance.-Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Parents and offspring unite in this arresting portrait of a crane family.The fifth collaboration between Frost and Lieder (Wake Up!, 2017, etc.), more than any of their prior ventures showcasing tiny creatures from the animal and insect world, here focuses on the tender familial relations of one species: the sandhill crane. As the author's note highlights and Lieder's signature photographs well illustrate, with an adult wingspan nearing 6 feet, this large marsh dweller is renowned among shorebirds for its distinctive vermilion-crested head, blazing saffron eyes, and tendency to mate for life. In clever counterpoint to Lieder's stunning close-ups, Frost's wee verse protagonist starts telling its tale while still in the egg, hearing its parents as it finally pecks through and its "shell falls away," revealing a wide-eyed tawny chick with spindly legs, downy fuzz, and diminutive, pointy beak. Lieder's silhouettes capture the chick's dogged determination to make its presence known as well as its tentative first movements: "Could I stand up / straight and tall? / Will my legs hold me? / What if I fall?" Children will easily relate to Frost's depiction of the chick's daring inquisitiveness while simultaneously finding comfort in the affirming theme of constant parental guidance and caring.With yet another seamless marriage of verse and image, readers will hope Frost and Lieder's creative union continues as long as that of their happily wed sandhill subjects. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When a sandhill crane egg hatches, the little chick finds itself atop a mound of reeds and twigs surrounded by water. It rises to standing position and soon starts to walk. When it finds its slightly older brother, they flap their wings, try to dance, and consider jumping into the water, but a parent warns that a snapping turtle is nearby. The chicks spot cranes in flight overhead and wonder how those birds learned to fly. Finally tuckered out, the little chick walks to its seated mama's side, leans in, and flops forward against her folded wing. Time for a rest. In their fifth picture-book collaboration, poet Frost and photographer Lieder offer young listeners a childlike narration from the hatchling's point of view, illustrated with captivating glimpses of its first experiences. Frost's short, rhyming verses help listeners imagine what the chick might hear, see, feel, and think. Often riveting and sometimes touching, Lieder's beautifully lit photographs work well with the expressive text. A pleasing picture book that reads aloud nicely.--Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2019 Booklist