Good Morning, Chick

by Mirra Ginsburg, Byron Barton (Illustrator)

"An ingenious barnyard story, brief but well-paced, simple but colorful." -- Booklist.

"The bright pictures and the wealth of animal sounds and actions make it a natural for the very youngest." -- School Library Journal.

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

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Mirra Ginsburg was a Jewish Russian-American translator of Russian literature, a collector of folk tales and a children's writer. Born in Bobruisk (then part of the Russian Empire, now part of modern-day Belarus) in 1909, she moved with her family to Latvia, then to Canada, before they settled in the United States. Although she won praise for her translations of adult literature, including the Master and Margarita (1967) by Mikhail Bulgakov and We (1972) by Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin, she is perhaps most celebrated for her contributions to children's literature. She collected and translated a vast array of folktales from the Russian tradition, as well as Siberian and Central Asian traditions. Ginsburg died in 2000.

Reviews

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures are so bright, which is lovely. Cute, simple little story.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

The simple repetitive text is fine, but the amateurish illustrations make this much less appealing.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOL when this interlibrary loan title arrived it was in “big book” format and I totally loved looking at Bryon Barton’s illustrations in very large format, a very different experience. It is a basic story of a hen caring for her chick and the chick’s adventures.
And oh there is one big frog briefly in this story.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

A chick hatches and immediately begins exploring the barnyard.

The text contexts a repeated phrase, which allows young readers to participate in the story and anticipate what will happen next.

The illustrations are brightly colored and draw in a primitive style.

[Jesse Baggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully primitive drawings (cartoony, one might even say) and a sweet story.

[K Morlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice addition to our farm unit

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this at our baby storytime, and it was pretty fun!

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book for infants and toddlers about a little chick’s first day on the farm

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun format. I think it would make for a great read aloud as the kids could participate in every other page saying "like this."

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

(read aloud by himself at 4yo, missed two words, ‘scolded’ and ‘coddled’.)

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! There's repetition, but I loved it. Book flows well and there were parts that made me laugh. I loved the simple yet colorful illustrations.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Little Chick, which we also tell in kamishibai format.

It is adapted from a story by Korney Chukovsky, published in Russia in 1952, I think, but not available in English.

[Courtney Hoke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ginsburg and Barton did an excellent job with Good Morning, Chick. It teaches children to read into the sentences and use their imagination. This book is perfect for younger children as it teaches them to use their imagination and to go through their thought process. It also contains farm animals, laughter, love, excitement, and bright colors that are entertaining to children. I feel like this book would be a great bed time story where the adult mimics what happens in the book so the child really grasp what each sentence and illustration means, or the child could do so with their stuffed animal. I really enjoyed this book as it can help children to use their imagination... something people never teach children which I think is critical for them to learn.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une vrai métaphore du conflit israélo-palestino, touchant et pointu pour parler d’un sujet aussi fort

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Morning, Chick by Mirra Ginsburg, illustrated by Byron Barton, is a simple story of a very young chick exploring the farmyard while watched by Speckled Hen.

Barton's bright, colorful illustrations feature the animals: chick, hen, cat, rooster and frog. I liked the way the animals were in the foreground, yet other parts of the farmyard are visible. My favorite images are hen & egg, just hatched chick, Speckled hen, hen scolds cat, frog laughed, and peck-peck.

This simple story repeats the phrase "like this" which will invite audience participation. This would be good choice for a read aloud or story-time for ages 2 to 4. Recommended for public library collections. 3.5 star rating.

For ages 2 to 4, farm-animals, chickens, read-a-loud, storytime, and fans of Mirra Ginsburg and Byron Barton.

[Katie Jelinek · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not so pleased with this book as it appeared to be very simple and somewhat boring. This book talked about the birth of a chick and the daily routines that a chick would go through. The only interesting part to me, which would be great to use in the classroom was the interactive parts of the book where you could show example of different sounds of different ways certain animals look like, etc.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

The children seem to enjoy this more than me. They seem fascinated with the close up illustrations on the first side and the full page spread on the opposing side. 4/11/12

My young crowd seemed taken with this again. One girl kept repeating "like this."

[Jillian Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simplistic book about a chick who is born and what the chick does during the day. Examples are given that are indicated by the "like this" phrase. Would be appropriate for a preschool or kindergarten class.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We borrowed this from the library and Reagan loves it! Nice, simple story.

[Agnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay for Baby or Toddler storytime about farm animals or egg theme with repeated phrase "like this" on every other page, featuring animals: cat, rooster, frog.

[Larissa Langsather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cute book with a repeat phrase which is always fun for kids- "like this".

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

a perfect farm yard story for preschool children

[Emerson and Theodore · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a reason Barton is Emerson's favorite author. So simple. So good.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

My three-year-old was drawn in by the colors and pictures.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay story about a chick and his mama hen walking around a farmyard.

Alright for toddler and preschool storytimes.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little yellow chick hatches out of an egg, and discovers things about the world of the barnyard around him. His mother hen is always there to protect him. Cute and simplistic for little readers.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

farms, mothers, interactive

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

* Granny gives her grandkinderen a book in springtime. This is the book she picked for my LO this year.

* This is the first book I remember reading. I loved it then. Though it looked a little different than I remembered, I still like it now.

* Rene Magritte may have approved: This book is not treacherous!

[Justin Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover of the book basically shows the story before you read it. Has all the characters in it that the chick eventually interacts with. The colors are very bright and inviting. The first part of each new adventure starts off with a little picture, allowing you to use your own imagination of what the next picture would be like. Then the illustrator puts the words into a bigger picture on what they seem to believe the text was saying. They all are very simple picture, but very beautiful and colorful and the same time. Nothing is overdone or difficult for the student to understand. It teaches the students the actual beginning life of a chick, on how it’s born, and then taught to eat. Teaches the protectiveness of a mother and it’s newborn. Very educational and easy to read for young ones.