Peepsqueak!

Preschoolers will identify with the indomitable hero of this story about a little chick who refuses to give up. The other chicks on the farm crack out of their eggs yawning, “But not Peepsqueak! Because why? He was on the move!” That phrase becomes an anthem for Peepsqueak as he tries to jump “up, Up, UP,” off of various launching pads (a stone wall, a totem pole of chicks), then falls “down, Down, DOWN.” The other farm animals kindly suggest that chickens can’t fly (“ ‘Don’t even try!’ mooed Big Brown Cow. ‘You can’t fly high!’ ”) but Peepsqueak is determined. Eventually, Old Gray Goose offers to take the chick on a real flight high above the farm. Clark’s simple cartoons create a friendly if generic farmyard environment that provides a safety net of sorts for Peepsqueak’s daredevil antics (he generally lands in “the soft green grass”). While young children will respond to the repetition of the form Clark uses throughout, it doesn’t do much to move the story forward—like its hero, it has a bit of trouble taking off. Ages 2–5. (Feb.)