March has arrived! Along with it, on the 28th, comes the SIXTH ANNIVERSARY of Kid Lit Reviews. KLR is not the only way March has of adding years. March is my birthday month. The day? Hm, remembering and recalling gets more difficult each March.  Let me think . . . . . . . Oh. My. It’s, Today! Before I get too old to write, let’s move on to the book you came to see. Flora and the Chicks is the first in a series of board books starring the darling Flora, balerina-in-training. Enjoy!

Flora and the Chicks: A Counting Book by Molly Idle
Written and Illustrated by Molly Idle
Chronicle Books   3/01/2017
978-1-4521-4657-7
20 pages   6 ½” X 6 ½”   Ages 0—3

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“Inspired by the main character of the Caldecott Honor book Flora and the Flamingo, this new series of board books is perfect for the very youngest Flora fans. When a nest of eggs begins to hatch, how will Flora ever keep up with so many chicks? Featuring fold-out pages and Molly Idle’s graceful artwork, this adorable counting book will delight young children as they master new words, concepts. and dance moves!” [PUBLISHER]

Review
[WC 334]
Flora carries a bowl with which to hold the day’s eggs. Mother Hen looks into Flora’s empty bowl; Flora looks into the hen’s nest, filled with nearly a dozen eggs. A cracking sound signals the first chick is hatching. Ooh, a second eggs hatches and now Flora holds two fluffy, yellow chicks. A pair of feet pops through another egg. This makes three—3—chicks!
Soon, Flora carries four fluffy, yellow, cheerful little chicks in her arms. Did you hear that cracking sound? Chick number five is on its way out. This chick is not the same fluffy, yellow as its siblings. This chick is brown, head to toes. Not long after, the remaining five chicks hatch. Proud Mother Hen gathers her chicks under her wings.

Flora and the Chicks is one of the books in this new, delightful feathered series of board books for the youngest Flora/Molly Idle fans. Flora and the Chicks is a quiet book considering all the egg cracking going on. Despite the lack of words, parents should be prepared for repeated requests to read Flora and the Chicks, and soon, Flora and the Ostrich.

Just like the original Flora series of picture books, Flora practices her ballet positions, as she did in her three previous books (Flora and the Flamingo [reviewed here], Flora and the Penguin [reviewed here], and Flora and the Peacocks [reviewed here]).
Those who loved the Flora’s picture book series will enjoy her new board book series. The well-constructed board pages will hold up to little fingers flipping through the pages and flaps. How fun it will be for children to open a flap and find Flora with more chicks! Those beginning their own ballet journey will want to keep these books on hand for encouragement.

Most importantly, young children will enjoy counting to ten and back (actually, you can count sixteen chicks on the last spread by leaving the left flap open and the right flap closed).

Next Up: Flora and the Ostrich! (Chronicle Books, 9/052017).

FLORA AND THE CHICKS: A COUNTING BOOK BY MOLLY IDLE. Text and illustrations copyright © 2017 by Molly Idle. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.

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Add FLORA AND THE CHICKS to Your Goodreads Shelf HERE.
Meet Molly Idle
http://www.idleillustration.com
Facebook: Idle Illustration
Instagram: @mollyidle
Twitter: @mollyidle

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Reprinted with permission from FLORA AND THE CHICKS: A COUNTING BOOK BY MOLLY IDLE © 2017 by Molly Idle, Chronicle Books. Illustrations © 2017 by Molly Idle.

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Copyright © 2017 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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Flora and the Chicks: A Counting Book by Molly Idle
Written and Illustrated by Molly Idle
Chronicle Books 3/01/2017
9781452146577