Official Review: Remembering Joseph Chickadee

[Helen_Combe]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Remembering Joseph Chickadee" by Nancy Peek Youngdahl.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Remembering Joseph Chickadee written and illustrated by Nancy Peek Youngdahl is a children’s book set within a flock of Chickadees. Joseph, the leader of the flock dies of old age and the birds deal with their grief by holding a celebration of his life; swapping stories of his good deeds.

I felt uncomfortable with this concept at first as it seems rather harsh to be introducing young children to death. On the other hand, children do experience the death of people and pets, so maybe it is better to prepare them gently for the eventuality.

The story consists of birds telling each other how Joseph helped them find nesting sites, food, and protected them from predators with his alarm calls. The illustrations are quite charming watercolours. Some of them are realistic and some are anthropomorphic as the birds wear ties or pearls. The book should have been uplifting, despite dealing with a difficult subject, but when I had finished it I still felt uncomfortable. After pondering on this, I realised that it was due to the mixture of realism and anthropomorphism. It is very clear that the author is an avid birdwatcher. She knows a great deal about birds and imparts her knowledge to the young readers. This is highly commendable. Where this doesn’t work is that the anthropomorphic Joseph helps and saves other birds. The anthropomorohic birds would therefore have been expected to reciprocate by offering him a place in their nests to roost. Actually, Joseph roosted alone which is the reality of bird life. He also had a partner in the past but was alone when he died. There was no mention of what had happened to his partner. Obviously, it avoids having a grieving spouse but I felt that despite being loved, Joseph came across as terribly lonely.

My favourite parts of the book were the illustrations, particularly of the birds in flight. I also appreciated the instructions on how to make a suet ball feeder. The book appears to be well-edited, though not professionally. There is one poorly phrased sentence with a hanging modifier, ’all would miss him, and his advice on how to find the perfect spot for their nests, terribly’.

I didn’t dislike the book in any way and I applaud the author for dealing with a difficult subject. However, I felt that it somehow missed the mark and for that reason, I am awarding it 3 out of 4 stars.

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Admin Note: The reviewer was given a pre-release draft version of the book. The version of the book that was published and is available for sale was edited, including to fix the minor grammar issue the reviewer noted.
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Remembering Joseph Chickadee
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[Stephanie Elizabeth]

I think this is a brilliant way to teach children about grief. While it does seem a bit deep for younger audiences, I think it is important that they have some understanding as it is an unfortunate part of life. Thanks for the great review!

[kandscreeley]

Death, unfortunately, does happen and often it's too soon for children. This book does have a market, I think. It would be great for those that are facing death all too quickly. I'm glad the author writes about the subject with delicacy. Thanks for the review.

[Cecilia_L]

I absolutely love the book cover. It seems like an interesting way to teach young readers about death but I understand your misgivings.

[Erin Dydek]

Awe, I feel bad that Joseph seemed so lonely. Maybe there is a lesson in that too...definitely some heavier topics to tackle for a young audience. I like the idea of using birds, though, and the illustrations sound wonderful. The instructions for a bird feeder sound like a nice addition to this book as well.

[AlexandraA16]

I absolutely love the book cover. It seems like an interesting way to teach young readers about death but I understand your misgivings.

I totally agree! When I first started reading the book review I was thinking, I'm going to buy this book, it looks so cute. After finishing the review, I'm not so sure. I guess that's a job well done on the reviewer's part! Haha. What an interesting way to approach this topic. I love watching the birds in my yard (my neighbor feeds them) so I still might check this out on Amazon.

[Magnify3]

I think it was a good thing that the author chose to use birds in the book. While I am not sure about buying such a book at least I think it just might serve its purpose. Thank you for the review.

[Mbrooks2518]

Unfortunately, this is a needed book . Although, I can understand that some people may not want to introduce the subject of death to their children before they have to. Great review!