The Missing Chick

by Valeri Gorbachev

Little chicks will be reassured when the town turns out for a search in this amusing, gently suspenseful tale with a sweet, satisfying ending.

One of Mother Hen’s little chicks is missing. Did they leave him in the house? Is he hiding in his bed? Under a bush? A frantic Mother Hen enlists the help of obliging neighbors, who search high and low but see no sign of the missing chick. Soon the firemen arrive, and a detective is on the case. But is the little chick really missing? Or did he just find a quiet place for a nap? With bright illustrations and comically expressive animal characters, Valeri Gorbachev tells a lighthearted, over-the-top tale of a little chick lost — and happily found.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 14, 2009

About the author

Valeri Gorbachev is the author and illustrator of a number of children's books, both in the United States and Europe, including Nicky And The Big Bad Wolves and Where is the Apple Pie? Mr. Gorbachev immigrated to the United States from the Ukraine in 1991 and now lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

(from harpercollins.com)

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mother Hen discovers one of her seven chicks is missing. She enlists help from her neighbors, the police, and the fire fighters. Eventually, Mrs. Duck find the chick sleeping in the laundry basket. The author shares the humor and the concern underlying this situation and lets the readers discover another possible problem on the very last page.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A preschool and up book about a missing chick. Mother chick is hanging laundry when Mrs. Duck comes a visiting but they can only find six of the baby chicks. Everyone in town helps. Nice ending and I love the community aspect.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, just a bit long for littles attention spans. The illustration on the last page with the baby chick asleep in the hanging laundry though...my heart.

Themes: chicks & hens
Ages: toddler-1st grade
Pub year: 2009

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a suspenseful read as we wonder where the little chick could be. I like that the emergency services personnel are also animals. The illustrations are busy in a good way; there are lots of details to review and discuss.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suddenly there is a missing chick. However, everyone is this animal community jumps out to help.

A nice little story about communities coming together.

[Cami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this, but for mostly sentimental reasons.

The story begins with a sweet mother hen hanging laundry whilst her chicks canter about. She boasts about the seven of them to a neighbor who only counts six. They search for the missing little one, gather help from neighbors, call the police, call the fire department, helicopters hover...then the little chick is found, just waking up from his nap in the laundry basket.
The illustrations are fun and colorful. I really liked them.

This story, though...the exact thing happened to my little brother when I was about six or seven years old.
He was missing for awhile (which as a parent now, I know can be anywhere from 2 minutes on) and the neighbors were all searching. Just as the police arrived and were taking statements and I was emerging from my room having been praying my little heart out, my dad brought up a laundry basket full of clothes and my little brother (around age four at the time) STILL asleep. What a relief!
My mom is going to get that 30 year old brother this book for his birthday.

[Terry]

My daughter picked out this book because of its title. She enjoyed looking for the little chick. She liked looking at the pictures of the Mother Hen and the other chicks looking at different places for the lost chick.

The ending is expected but has a fun twist! It was cute to watch the Mother Hen looking all the different places her chick might have run off to and seeing how the town's "people” helped out. The pictures were not overpowering; they helped the story along.

To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorbachev, Valeri The Missing Chick 32 pgs. Candlewick ~Language G, Sexual Content~G Violence~G

Like any mother, Hen panics when one of her chicks goes missing. She engages the entire town in her search. This funny, delightful search ends happily and kids will enjoy the pictures as much as the story. A great read for any age!

ELM. ESSENTIAL Allison Madsen~Youth Services Librarian-SJO Public Librarian

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good story line (with good illustrations) showing kids how important it is to let mom where they are - it reminded me of a true story in our neighborhood. All of us neighbors and the police searched frantically for the little boy especially since we were one block from American Lake (no life guards). Fortunately he eventually walked out of his own house - he had taken a nap UNDER his bed and against the wall!

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Missing Chick is a silly story about a silly little chick who takes a little nap much to the chagrin of his mother when she cannot find him anywhere. Mother Hen enlists the help of the townsfolk, i.e. Mrs. Duck, Neighbor Goat, Neighbor Sheep, Neighbor Pig...not to mention the police and firefighters.Luckily, Mrs. Duck notices something moving in the laundry basket and AHA! little chick is found, alive and well, but snoozing.

Used for "Chicks and Eggs" Storytime: April, 2011.

[Heather Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember the rhyme about the woman in the shoe who had so many children… Well, this mom knows exactly what to do, and we do too: count, count, count. Radiant watercolors and a marvelous cast of characters make this book a stand-out for young children.

[Christine Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Mother Hen's little chicks is missing. Did they leave him in the house? Is he hiding in his bed, or under a bush? Mother Hen and the neighbors search high and low, but there's still no sign of the missing chick. www.hcpl.net

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute with great illustrations. Mother chick realizes she can only see six of her seven chicks so all the neighbors come to help her look for her chick. Ages 3+

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mother Hen is missing a chick- where can he be? The neighbors, the police, and the firemen all look.

Good pictures, cute story.

[Gwen the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a perfect preschool read with lots of repetition and a short, satisfying story.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved it!

[Mandy J. Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mama Hen has 7 chicks. Oops! There are only 6 chicks! Where did the 7th one go??? The search is on with all the animals out to help.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Mother Hen's chicks is missing, and she enlists all the barnyard neighbors, and the police and firefighters to help her find him. Try in story time.

[Tina B · Rating 3 out of 5]

"chickens, lost, community helpers"

[Becky Aughenbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good book to use when talking to students about letting your parents know where you are and being lost.

[Lynn K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about a misunderstanding of a lost chicken. My son loved the humor and enjoyed predicting where he though the little chick was hiding.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The image on the last page really made this book for me!

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for the younger crowd. (3-5) Police, Fire trucks and helicopters are called to look for a missing chick.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mother Hen has lost one of her chicks and everyone comes out to help find him.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations, enlightening story about friendship and community.