Cheep! Cheep!

Three yellow chicks sleeping on their wooden perch are woken by the egg below them starting to hatch. Their reactions to the arrival of the white and yellow spotted addition to their family is told using chicks modelled from towelling, with malleable plastic eyes, beaks and feet which have been moulded, manipulated and photographed for the illustrations. The 41-word text comprises just seven different words: sleep, cheep, peep, creep, eep, leap and heap which are repeated, combined and orchestrated with question and exclamation marks. This minimalist text allows plenty of opportunity for reader and small child to talk about what is going on in the lively, funny pictures. This sturdy book with board covers and 20 flexible, glossy card pages is built to withstand enthusiastic handling at home and in nursery. JB