Peeping Beauty

by Brenda Maier, Zoe Waring (Illustrator)

Overview

Mama, Papa, and their little family can’t wait for their newest chicks to arrive. But one little chick just doesn’t want to break out of its shell in this sweet spin on the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty.

Peep peep! Mama and Papa can’t wait for their new little chicks to arrive.

With a quiver,
A shiver,
A crackle,
and a peep!

Two of the chicks hatch!

But the third egg? It’s in no hurry to get cracking.

With the help of his siblings and his mama’s love, will this little chick find its way out into his big, new world?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481472722
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	02/05/2019
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD450L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Although Brenda Maier lived on a farm for the first few years of her life, she has never seen a chicken sing, tell jokes, or read. In addition to writing, Brenda enjoys reading, baking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and their five children. She lives in Oklahoma, where she works as a gifted education specialist.

Zoe Waring is a children’s book illustrator, author, and designer, whose work has been published in twelve languages. She lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and when she’s not squirrelling away in her studio, she’s chasing adventures with her husband, daughter, and four-legged friend, Frodo. Visit Zoe at ZoeWaring.co.uk.

Editorial Reviews

02/20/4

In a buoyant spring story, chicken parents and their two big chicks await the arrival of three new siblings. In the morning, the first two chicks hatch with a “quiver, shiver, crackle, peep!” The fluffy big sister and brother are eager for their last sibling to arrive, but the egg isn’t quite ready yet. The big chicks “hatch a plan” to coax the last one out; big sister wears a pink cowboy hat and strums a guitar (“with a cluck-cluck here”) and big brother performs a comedy set for the community of barnyard animals. But after Mama reads the story of “Peeping Beauty” to the family and they all offer the egg “a little extra love,” out comes... not one chick, but two. Waring illustrates in jewel-toned art, capturing the excitement of a growing family. Ages 4–7. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2018
PreS-K—Mama and Papa Chick anxiously await the arrival of the three newest members of their family. They read a story with the older chicks and by the morning, two of the babies have made their debuts. But the family begins to grow impatient when the final fowl cannot be coaxed out with a barn dance, or a rousing stand-up comedy routine. It isn't until Mama starts to read about a princess who wouldn't wake up that the family hears a faint peeping sound. With a little extra snuggling, they manage to oust not one, but two occupants to join the fun. Older siblings will identify with the desire to do anything to coax a new baby into the world. Waring's cartoon chicks are round and cheery to match Maier's simple, sweet text. VERDICT While not quite as memorable as the likes of Olivier Dunrea's Ollie, this seasonal title will still satisfy.—Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH

School Library Journal

2018-10-28

When will the last little chick hatch?

In a farmyard story laden with egg-cellent puns, anthropomorphic chickens Mama and Papa and their two big chicks (who are unmentioned in the text, appearing only in the illustrations) wait for their three new eggs to hatch. It's very "egg-citing." The first two eggs hatch quickly, but the third won't budge. The babies each "hatch a plan" involving boisterous barnyard activities, but nothing works, "Maybe we just need to be patient," suggests Mama, and then the family settles in to read while they wait. The chicks, and even Papa, start to drift off to sleep as Mama reads The Princess and the Peacock, Beauty and the Beak, and then the eponymous Peeping Beauty, but everyone awakens as they hear the chick in the egg start to peep during the last story. Inspired by the "peck on the cheek" the rooster gives to Peeping Beauty in the book, the family circles around the last egg to "give a little extra love." This does the trick, and not one, but two little chicks hatch from the egg in a surprise ending. Waring's bright, playful digital illustrations augment the text's humor, but their addition of the two big chicks seems unnecessary and potentially confusing, since they closely resemble the first chicks to hatch, and with no names among the four of them, readers will be forgiven for not knowing exactly which chick is which.

A mostly (t)winning story to make readers cackle. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews