Surfer Chick

by Kristy Dempsey, Henry Cole (Illustrator)

“Two birds of a feather, a chick and her dad, lived by the shore, in a radical pad. A legend in surfing, Chick’s dad ruled the Roost. Chick’s dream was to learn every move he produced.”
So begins the story of a little chick and her dad who take to the beach so she can finally learn how to surf. At first Chick’s mood is foul as she struggles through some gnarly waters, but soon she is catching waves on her own board and even doing righteous tricks, just like her rad dad!
Filled with cool surf lingo, this sweet rhyming picture book is perfect for summer at the beach and for celebrating the love between a father and a daughter.

Praise for Surfer Chick

STARRED REVIEWS
“A most expressive chicken makes a splash in this winning title about learning to surf. Dempsey keeps her groovy, rhyming text tight to create a raplike beat that colorfully describes a young chick’s adventures tackling the waves. A guaranteed ‘Cowabunga!’”
— Kirkus Reviews , starred review

"This is a sweet, spunky story about perseverance and gaining confidence. Acrylic paint and colored pencil with a hot press watercolor make the sunsets dynamic and bright. Totally awesome!"
— School Library Journal , starred review

“Rollicking, righteous fun.”
– People magazine


HONORS 2012 National Parenting Publications Book Awards

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Storytime, Sports, Birds

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Director of Creative Content

Children's Author:
ME WITH YOU (Philomel)
MINI RACER (Bloomsbury)
SURFER CHICK (Abrams)
A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT (Philomel)
SUPERHERO INSTRUCTION MANUAL (Knopf)
TEN LITTLE FINGERS, TWO SMALL HANDS (Little Bee)
A HOP IS UP (Bloomsbury)
TEN LITTLE TOES, TWO SMALL FEET (Little Bee)
PAPA PUT A MAN ON THE MOON (Dial, 2019)

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this charming picture book written in rhyming text, Chick is excited to learn how to surf since her father is quite talented in moving across the waves on his board. But it's harder to surf than she thought, and more than once, Chick ends up wiped out, struggling to stay on her pink board. With her father's tender guidance and example, she perseveres, eventually riding the waves skillfully and adding a twist of her own. The author's clever use of word play with phrases such as "foul-tempered" (unpaginated) and "ruffled her feathers" (unpaginated) and surfer lingo such as "bummer" (unpaginated), "colossal wipeout" (unpaginated), and "gnarly new legend" heighten the book's appeal and assure that it might be taken along a road trip or two. The acrylic paint and colored pencil illustrations pay artistic tribute to the ocean and the joys of surfing. Here's one Chick who really has paid her dues and earned the title of Surfer Chick. Not only does this title pay tribute to the relationship between a father and his daughter, but it also serves as a gentle reminder that not everything worth doing comes easily.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the expressive, funny illustrations, but the rhyming text was a bit over-the-top for my tastes. Will definitely have kid appeal.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surfer Chick by Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Henry Cole. PICTURE BOOK Abrams Books, 2012. $17. 9781419701887

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Chick lives with her dad who is a surf legend and he has decided to teach Chick how to surf. Chick picks out her surfboard and is excited to learn, but is soon discouraged when it’s not as easy as she hoped. Chick keeps trying though and pretty soon she learns her own tricks and is a legend in her own right.

The illustrations are the best part of this book. The colors are bright and the expressions on Chick’s face add humor. The text reads in a sing song rhythm, making it a fun read aloud. The moral of the story, which is to keep trying even when at first you don’t succeed, never grows old.

C. Peterson
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Dan Shonka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surfer Chick is a book that shows youngsters how to overcome doubts and fear. In the story, it's in the realm of surfing. And there's the tones of Girl Power ringing throughout. The illustrations are colorful and help drive the story. The only drawback is the rhyming verse seems strained at some points. My granddaughter picks this book out of a line-up, and there can hardly be a better recommendation than that.

[Paul Dilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter loves this book which is why I didn't rate it lower. I found the rhymes very annoying and forced. It made me wonder why I don't react so negatively to Dr. Seuss's silly rhymes, beyond the massive repetition demanded by an unforgiving toddler. Will have to think about that one...

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had such beautiful illustrations (made using a combo of acrylic and colored pencils, which blended together so well). It was a very cute story about perseverance. Plus it was a blast to read out loud in a surfer's voice.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A father and daughter tale of learning to ride the waves, with plenty of surfing and beach bum jargon, and parental encouragement as Chick is stoked to be a great surfer, and perform righteous tricks just like her rad dad.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

This witty book would make a fun summer family storytime read aloud. It may be a little high for toddlers, but there's something in there that all ages will enjoy.

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 4 out of 5]

141/365

[Jessica Easton · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute and we met the author on a flight at GSP and she was so kind to sign and give us a copy of her book! A great gift for a spunky girl into surfing!

[Vani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly and fun. Some of the surfer vocabulary and puns needed explaining to my child.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming cuteness with good illustrations.

[Carly Really Very Normal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about bravery. Cartoony illustrations and a rhyming scheme.

[Veronica Precourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love it

[Kelly Strenge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous and brilliantly written.

[Kaitlyn Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a great theme and moral throughout. This book can definitely be used for the younger grades when talking about setting goal and achieving it by never giving up and taking steps in order to achieve success. The illustrations were okay in this book, just plain and simple.

[Pamela Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pre read this for our online toddler group. It is so cute with a good try try again message. Ideal for our summer sports theme in August.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surfer Chick by Kristy Dempsey, illustratated by author: Harry Cole] is a rhyming picturebook about a spunky little chick and her Dad, who takes her to the beacch to learn how to surf.

Cole's detailed, bright illustrations were created with acrylic paints and colored pencils on hot press watercolor paper. My favorite images include cover, verso sunset, surf shop, colossal wiipeout, shred, stunt, and last illustration.

Dempsey's text is at turns funny and touching. The word play is fun: foul tempered and ruffled feathers. Surfing terms like wireout, gnarly, shred, righteous, and stoked add authenticity. Some may find the rhymes a little much, though they worked for me.

The themes of determination, persaverance, and courage are good ones for children. Having father providing his guidance and examples to his daughter is a bonus. With the large bright illustrations, this could be a good storytime choice, if the rhymes work for the reader. 3.5 stars.

For ages 5 to 7, surfing, beach, fathers and daughters, persavereance, determination, summer, and fans of Kristy Dempsey and Harry Cole.

[Morgan Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have choose this book as the 2013 Caldecott award winning book because of the beautiful illustrations it has on every page. The illustrator, Henry Cole, uses bright colors that will draw the readers attention with just a few turns of the page. The facial expressions on each character are a great representation of what they are thinking and feeling. What I love most about this book is that they pictures really overtake the book and the words just simply flow into the spread. Surfer chick is addressed to a young audience, most likely 1st and 2nd graders. At one point the chick is learning to surf, the pictures show exactly what moves she is doing until she finally falls off her board. I rate this book a 4 out 5 stars because of the strong illustrations, but the storyline could have been better. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I hope it wins an award.

[Lauren Fogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book as a read-aloud because the illustrations are bright and colorful, taking up every square-inch of each page, and they do not contain too many details that would keep children from soaking up the entire scene. They also correlate well with the storyline and bring some excitement to the story as the reader witnesses Chick learning how to surf.

This is a rhyming story which makes the story easy to read. Rhyming stories are probably my favorite because of the creativeness that goes into selecting the words that fit perfectly so that it reads almost like a poem. The story also focuses on Chick, a girl, wanting to learn to surf. I think books like this are great for children because they can see that sports are not gender restricted and anyone can do anything if they try hard enough.

[Kathy Ellen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was cute!
I searched for books on surfing and saw this come up at the library.

I love the illustrations....most if not all of them take up the entire page,
and the colors and characters are very appealing.

I really like the rhyming text too! I think it flows well and it's nice to have a rhythmic book about the ocean, which is a very rhythmic thing in itself!

The only thing I wanted was more story.
I like that she fails the first time, and that her Dad encourages her,
but I think her ultimate success would have felt more satisfying if she would have struggled more to get there.

That being said, it's still a really fun book and a great introduction to surfing!

[Cally Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I think it should win the Caldecott Medal. It fits all of the criteria and the illustrations are phenomenal. The art was created using acrylic paints and colored pencils on hot press watercolor paper. The story plot is very cute but the illustrations make it beautiful and fit the story perfectly. The illustrations are very detailed and have bright, fun colors. The expressions on all of the characters faces are perfect. A lot of the pictures take up the whole page making it so neat to look at. It is so unique to any book illustrations that I have seen before.

[Romelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a little partial to this book since I grew up on Hawaii. The title and front cover illustrations are very appealing. I love the father daughter relationship and the fact that the chick is getting surfing lessons from her father, whom she admires. I like that this story is about determination- falling and picking yourself up, and courage. The illustrations are also fun and vibrant. Chick's expressions are hilarious. Lots to like about this rhyming picture book by Kristy Dempsey and Henry Cole.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was left on my desk this morning at the library for me to update something in the system, and I figured I might as well read it while it was sitting there. And you know what? It's really cute! There's something very funny and endearing about chickens surfing (haha, even thinking about it makes me laugh), and I liked that it's not a subject matter that's been in any way overdone. And the rhymes worked really well. It may not be for everyone, but I thought it was a lot of fun.

[Alondra Munoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, it had great illustrations with great colors that were appealing to the eye as well. This book was about a chicken that wanted to learn how to surf. Her dad bought her a nice pink surf board and she went out into the ocean but failed her first time. After she watched her dad surf she gained some confidence and decided to go out again and did a marvelous job surfing and even came up with her own trick.

[Donna]

SURFER CHICK The combo of Kristy Dempsey's crankin' rhyme and Henry Cole's comical images they catch the perfect wave. I can tell you, for sure that...

...this hip little Chick is a very cool dudette.
It took a few tries, but she'll get the hang of it yet.
She wants to surf, be a pro like her Dad.
She just had to be brave to prove she was "bad"...

...and I'm sure you'll agree this read is "Cowabunga" time! :)

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read aloud for elementary age kiddos. Squawking voices and over reactions a must for this story. Chick's dad is a well known and respected wave rider. Chick wishes to one day be as known and loved as her father. A good lesson in not giving up because something is more challenging than you initially thought it to be.

[Laura Salas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chick practiced, then...
BUMMER! A breaker arose
that ruffled her feathers
and tangled her toes.

Very cute rhyming picture book about Chick, whose dad is teaching her to surf. Excellent meter and rhyme and a funny story with lots of surfing jargon. And, of course, Chick catches the wave at the end. A great summer read.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun illustrations and the rhyming text makes reading this book aloud a lot of fun. Rowan (my 4 month old daughter) seemed to really enjoy this book. Great story about trying new things and doing your best - and that everyone can teach someone new things. Even papa rooster could learn from his little chick daughter!