A flying masked bandit (code name: Chickadee) discovers he isn't quite
who he thinks he is in this fresh and delightful tale about discovering
one's true nature.
Meet Chickadee. Criminal. Rapscallion. All-around bad seed. Sure, he
started out obeying the rules, following his parents' advice about
finding things to eat and staying away from houses. But then . . .
winter arrives. And it's so much harder to find food in winter! So
when Chickadee spies a "vault" full of "gold" near a house by the park
(Wait, wasn't there something to remember about houses?), he cleverly
devises a plan to snatch the "vault full of treasure" without getting
caught! He is the King of Thieves! Only, hmm, the humans near the vault
seem to want him to visit. Maybe Chickadee's not a criminal after all?
Monica Silvie's fun first-person storytelling will have readers falling
in love with this cheeky and enormously appealing bird and his
endearingly misinformed self-perception. Chickadee's growing
understanding that he's not actually a criminal, and that what he really
wants is a friend, adds a lovely poignancy to the humor. Elina Ellis's
charming, hilarious illustrations bring the adorable Chickadee to life;
the way he looks directly at readers with wide-eyed sincerity while he
speaks to them is particularly effective. A spread at the back contains
facts about black-capped chickadees -- illustrated with comments from
Chickadee himself -- along with further reading and sources, making this
both a terrific picture book read-aloud and a great supplement to life
science lessons on characteristics and habitats of animals. With such a
seamless blend of entertainment and information, learning has never been
so much fun!
