Reassuring, loving, nurturing, this book makes me feel safe. Warm, rich colours invite us onto a family farm where a little girl is given three chicks to look after. She becomes their mama, keeping them warm, feeding them and letting them out of their coop to forage and play. One day she is rewarded by a smooth, brown egg.
When a fox takes a chicken, Papa takes Sonya onto his knee and tells her that the fox needed a big meal to feed his family. Papa tells her how a fox loves and cares for his kits the same way Papa cares for his family and how Sonya cares for her chickens.
Together, the family mark out a grave for the chicken and as Sonya mourns she also finds comfort in thinking about the happy baby foxes living in the woods. When a chick hatches from an egg Sonya vows to do everything she can to keep the chicken safe and happy. Her little brother watches on, arms outstretched in anticipation to cuddle and care for the little chick.
For more books about chickens, go to C is for Chicken
For more books about death, go to Picture Books about Death
