Official Review: Chickie And The Great Barnyard Benefit

[Juliana_Isabella]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Chickie And The Great Barnyard Benefit" by Bee Urabazo.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Chickie and the Great Barnyard Benefit by Bee Urabazo is a fantastical children’s chapter book. The story centers around Chickie, a giant baby chick who is adopted by Loren and Tony, a loving human couple. After finding Chickie out in a storm one night, the couple takes him in and makes him a part of their family on Stagecoach Lane. In the same storm, a flock of birds flying over Stagecoach Lane is hurt and must stop to rest and recuperate. Along with Chickie, the animals living nearby decide to hold a benefit to gather food for the injured birds. Throughout this process, Chickie must find his place on Stagecoach Lane and in the world while Loren and Tony discover that the human and animal worlds are not as separated as they previously seemed.

I really enjoyed the construction of this book. The illustrations are delightful and helped me understand how the various animals compare in terms of size. They also gave life to Chickie and his animal friends, who have very expressive faces. I also liked that Chickie struggled with many of the things that young children might have issues with. Chickie experiences bullying and exclusion from a social group that he wants to fit into. He also has to overcome stage fright so he can perform at the benefit.

Conversely, there were some elements that I didn’t enjoy in the story. There is no explanation for Chickie’s size, which is comparable to that of a 2-year-old child. All of the other animals are sized normally. At first, Loren and Tony treat him like an animal, but he eventually begins to speak, so they treat him more like a child. By the end of the book, people outside of the family are also treating Chickie like a human, while the other animals are still treated like animals.

With all of these things considered, I would rate Chickie and the Great Barnyard Benefit 3 out of 4 stars. It teaches valuable lessons about growing up in the context of a cute story. However, some elements were confusing, leading me to remove a star.

I would recommend this book for children ages 5 to 9. It doesn’t include difficult vocabulary, but it is longer than most picture books and has chapters. Parents may want to read one or two chapters with their child each day at bedtime. With 40 chapters, this fun book could last a kid for weeks.

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Chickie And The Great Barnyard Benefit
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[MsH2k]

I LOVE the happy face of Chickie on the cover! I agree that it is confusing when authors blur the line between animals and humans in children’s books. Thank you for a great review.

[Ivana Tomaš]

I find this a very sweet and interesting story, and children can learn a lot from the experiences described about bullying and being thrown out of the group. Contains illustrations, which is always a good addition!
Thank you for a great review!

[maxiphemmax]

This must be a very interesting story. I'm sure children can easily relate while reading along. They do have such big imagination beyond their age. Thanks for the review

[Bhaskins]

This sounds like such a sweet story.

[kandscreeley]

Despite the weird size of Chickie, the story sounds super cute! I'm not really in the age group, but I've been known to read a children's book or two. Thanks!

[kperm]

The story seems to be sweet and Chickie looks so cute on the cover. I will read this book to my nephews.

[Anon_Reviewer]

Judging from the illustrations on the cover, I can tell the illustrator did a good job. Otherwise, Chickie sounds a little too big for comfort. I hope the author will revise the book with your sentiments in mind. Thanks for the review!