Written by Jill Esbaum
Illustrated by Jen Corace
A baby chick in a killdeer nest cracks, pushes out and explores her surroundings. The story is told in the first person so the chick, and the young reader will both be excited about new wobbly legs, reflections in water and how very big the world seems to be.
Beautiful illustrations complement the story and lead perfectly through the sequence of the story. It is a beautiful addition to the springtime stories that exist. However, this will introduce young children to a particular bird that they can listen for around their own environments.
The rhyme of the story works well and will tickle young listeners. The story also has a gentle rolling rhythm that is a delight to the ears. There is humor, surprise and opportunities for young children to suggest what comes next in the story. For all these reasons, it is a great book for teaching literacy skills and fulfilling the requirements of the common core.
There is a double-page spread that would be excellent for introducing and/or reinforcing mapping skills where the little chick first experiments with running. It also opens the door to further research questions for the children to ask. What will the killdeer bird eat? How long will she stay in the nest? In what parts of the country are killdeer birds found? These answers can be sought in the library or on-line. It might even cause the class, or individual child, to learn about other kinds of birds. It could grow into a life-long love of bird watching and bird feeding.
Title: I Hatched!- Author: Jill Esbaum
- Illustrator: Jen Corace
- Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2014
- Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
- Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
- ISBN: 978-0-8037-3688-7
- Genre: Picture Book Fiction
- Grade Level Preschool – 2