KID LIT REVIEW’S 6TH ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY! — WIN 6 BOOKS! CONTEST IS OVER

Today is Kid Lit Reviews 6th Anniversary!  Wow, I never intended to review children’s books for such a long time. Thanks to the terrific followers and the wonderful publishers, the KLR domain is mine for at least two more years, though I imagine more will years will follow.

This year, Kid Lit Reviews is holding a giveaway/contest. Three lucky readers will win six (6) books of their choice from those reviewed here at KLR.* ENTER from now until April 28th (next 30 days)  by leaving a comment on one or more posts here at KLR. That’s a possible 30 entries. Plus, 2 entries for Tweeting about the giveaway (once per week), or for posting on Facebook (once per week). Leave a link in comments on the day you tweet or post in Facebook so I can verify it. If you have been wanting a few of the books seen on KLR, now is your chance to get it!

Okay, now that the announcement is finished, Good Luck!, let’s move on to today’s book, Hattie Peck: The Journey Home.

Hattie Peck: The Journey Home
Series: Hattie Peck #2
Written and Illustrated by Emma Levey
Sky Pony Press   3/07/2017
978-1-5107-1390-1
32 pages    Ages 3—6

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“A LOVING HEN AND A POIGANT (sic) STORY OF FAMILY

“Hattie Peck adores eggs of all kinds. However, she cannot make any of her own. No worries—HATTIE has collected eggs from all over the world, hatched them, and raised her blended family of cockatoos, storks, owls, anything from an egg—even reptiles.

“But now it’s time. They all need to leave her big loving nest.

“So off the flock goes, on their biggest—and saddest—adventure. Even though, in her heart, Hattie knows it’s best.

“A poignant story about family and differences, making hard choices, letting go, and inclusion.” [INSIDE JACKET]

The Story
[WC 179]
In Hattie Peck’s last picture book (Hattie Peck), she gathered all the orphaned eggs from around the world. Now hatched, Hattie’s dream family is a diverse group of animals, from small birds to a large alligator. The children are now grown and ready to leave Hattie. A new adventure was before the family. With bags packed, the group flew the coup.
At each child’s destination, Hattie said one more goodbye. One-by-one the family shrinks. Hattie leads her children up mountainsides and down into caves. They traveled over homes and cities. The family grows smaller and smaller, until only two children remain—the penguins. Hattie says her last goodbye, reverses her course and adventures home, alone.
Back home, Hattie thought of her children. She knew they were where they needed to be, but wanted them home with her just the same, especially on their birthday. Most mothers feel this way, I imagine. It would be so nice if Hattie’s children came home for their birthday, but this would be a difficult thing to arrange. Hattie sat rocking, knitting outfits, and remembering each face.

Review
[WC 291]
The Journey Home is a trip of love for Hattie Peck. Each of the orphaned eggs she lovingly raised is ready to return from whence they came. Hattie revises her first trip, in reverse. There is so much for children and parents to love. First, is the diversity of Hattie’s family. She raised snakes, small birds, a pelican, flamingo, turtles, penguins, ducks, hens, hedgehogs, a platypus, and even an alligator. Everyone gets along. No one attacks or eats another. The animals, despite their differences, find ways to get along. Maybe it’s Hattie and the way she raised her children to accept others. Inclusion had to have been a priority. Love guides everything Hattie does with her created family.
The Journey Home also highlights the family, unconditional love, togetherness, and bonding between parent and child and between the children. Adopted children will love Hattie Peck and her family. Each child is wanted regardless of their origin (equates to race, nationality, religion, appearance). While the ending will not surprise readers, it will charm them into loving Hattie Peck and her huge family. If you read Hattie Peck, (book 1), keep an eye out for similar images, such as the front-end pages. Instead of being eggs, now there are cracked shells. Many of Hattie’s family adventure also mirrors her solo adventure in book 1.
Levey’s illustrations are bright and engaging. Her humor resounds from both the text and the images. The detail-filled spreads contain hidden gems. No road trip should be without a game of “I Spy.” There are sufficient details to play a good round or two before Hattie returns home. There is simply so much to love about the illustrations, the story, and all they represent (family bonding, diversity, adopted families, loyalty, unconditional love, devotion, inclusion, acceptance, and more), that Hattie Peck: The Journey Home belongs in schools, day cares, and homes.

I hope Hattie Peck’s series will return a few more times. She has a lot to teach us from her adorably funny world.

HATTIE PECK: THE JOURNEY HOME. Text and illustrations copyright © 2017 by Emma Levey. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Sky Pony Press, New York, NY.

Amazon—Indie Books—Apple Books—Sky Pony Press

Add HATTIE PECK: THE JOURNEY HOME to Your Goodreads Shelf HERE.
Originally published in 2016 by Top That! Publishing, U.K.

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Illustrations from HATTIE PECK: THE JOURNEY HOME by Emma Levey copyright © 2016 by Emma Levey. Used with permission from Sky Pony Press/Skyhorse Publishing.

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

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The Journey Home
Series: Hattie Peck #2
Written and Illustrated by Emma Levey
Sky Pony Press 3/07/2017
9781510713901

*of remaining books.