You'll Always Be My Chickadee

Starred review from March 4, 2024
“Busy birdsong, breaking dawn,/ melodies above the lawn.// Fly right over here to me./ You’ll always be my chickadee.” In a snuggly book that unfolds over the course of a day spent outdoors, Hosford uses expressive, nature-filled rhymes to capture the adoring relationship between a
caregiver and child. Time outside provides inspiration for pet names that refer to the beloved variably as a “sugar beet,” “forest friend,” “midday sun,” and more. Undulating hues mark Gonzales’s light-filled gouache, watercolor, and pencil scenes of the brown-skinned child and
an adult companion hiking, taking a cold river plunge, and observing a variety of critters, including butterflies, cows, and snails. As day shifts to night, and images move toward the domestic, a sleepy mood underlines the book’s feel of absorbing tenderness across place and time: “Hugs and kisses, cozy bed,/ wondrous dreams are still ahead.// No matter where we choose to roam,// you’ll always be my/ heart and home.” Ages 3–5.

March 1, 2024
A parent and a child explore the world, with their love at the center of it. "Fly right over here to me," the parent proclaims; "You'll always be my chickadee." The loving parent embraces the little one, whose arms are spread wide as a chickadee soars in the sunny background. Lilting rhyme and bright images showcase moments of wonder, discovery, delight, curiosity, and, above all, love as the two move through their day. They spend time in the garden, explore a lush forest, cannonball into a chilly river, and luxuriate in a glorious, flower-filled meadow. On each spread, brief verse describes the world around them ("Fir and cedar, spruce and pine, / branches, roots that intertwine") before focusing on the love they share, culminating in the phrase "You'll always be my..." ("sugar beet," "evergreen," "forest friend," etc.). The rhyme scheme is sweet and playful. Gonzales' illustrations, a combination of digitally edited watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil, are soft and vibrant, at times appearing to glow from within. Though there's no shortage of picture books devoted to the parent-child bond, this one more than holds its own. Seemingly meant for a warm lap, this title is perfect for a snuggly read-aloud; it's a heartfelt reinforcement of the secure and loving relationship between child and caregiver. Both characters are brown-skinned. A golden-hued love song, both for treasured children and for the outdoors. (Picture book. 2-5)

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