Nora's Chicks

Newbery Medalist MacLachlan (Sarah, Plain and Tall) revisits the prairie in this tender story of a family that emigrates from Russia to the American frontier. Though Nora's parents are aware of their daughter's sense of isolation on her new turf, they can provide little solace. A stray dog becomes devoted to Nora's baby brother, and her father has his horses and cows for company. "I need something all my own," laments Nora; her father inadvertently provides that very thing when he brings home 10 chicks and two geese "for eating." Nora decides they are too beautiful to eat, and he agrees, conceding, "They are yours." With her usual taut and penetrating style, MacLachlan reveals the reawakening of Nora's spirit as she bonds with her chicks, which also bring her closer to a neighboring girl. Brightened by the festive patterns of Nora's Old World fashions, Brown's (Kisses on the Wind) smudgy, windswept watercolors capture the starkness and beauty of the prairie and the simplicity of the life there. This is a lovely, affecting package. Ages 3-5. Agent: Ruben Pfeffer, East West Literary Agency. (Feb.)

Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

K-Gr 3--After emigrating from Russia to the American plains, Nora misses the familiar landscape of her home and is lonely. When she and her younger brother adopt a stray dog, the dog prefers Milo. Similarly, the cows and horses really belong to her father. When the family acquires some chicks and geese, Nora adopts them as her own, and her father promises not to make dinner of them. The chicks follow her everywhere. After one chick is lost and returned by a girl from the neighboring farm, Nora makes a friend. Through bare-bones prose, MacLachlan visits the same territory of prairie loneliness portrayed in her work for older readers, but with less lyricism. While realistic in its portrayal of the impact of a move, the narrative's slow pacing and limited drama will appeal mainly to patient readers. The sweet expressions and flyaway hair in Brown's watercolors add charm, but the muted palette and basic landscapes surrounding the figures do little to attract readers to MacLachlan's similarly muted narrative. Despite its overall mildness, this longer picture book fills a need for early elementary historical fiction.--Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, Farmington Hills, MI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Like her novels, MacLachlan's latest picture book is a heartwarming—but never saccharine—tale with an old-fashioned feel.
—Kirkus

This is a lovely, affecting package.
—Publishers Weekly

Brown's beguiling illustrations—sensitive drawings with watercolor washes—bring the characters and the rural setting to life in evocative scenes, with the focus sometimes on the landscape, sometimes on the characters. Written mainly in short words and sentences, this sometimes amusing, sometimes tender picture book is a good choice for reading aloud while also being accessible to many independent readers.
—Booklist

This longer picture book fills a need for early elementary historical fiction.
—School Library Journal

The illustrations are done in watercolor and enhance the story by providing more details about the setting, the passage of time, and the period.
—Library Media Connection

Any kid who has experienced loneliness will surely relate to Nora's feelings of heartache, and the simple, understated text keeps the action poignant without tipping over into sentimental melodrama.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This beautiful book will charm readers young and old.
—San Francisco Book Review