Chirp!: Chipmunk Sings for a Friend | Book Review

Book Review of Chirp!: Chipmunk Sings for a Friend
The Children’s Book Review

Chirp!: Chipmunk Sings for a Friend

Written by Jamie A. Swenson

Illustrated by Scott Magoon

Ages 4-8 | 40 Pages

Publisher: Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster | ISBN: 9781534470026

What to expect: Animals and Friendship

Chipmunk would like a friend. Specifically, Chipmunk would like a friend to sing along with her songs. You see, Chipmunk spends each day singing the songs of her heart – some happy, some sad, and some in-between and bittersweet. So when Chipmunk meets pinecone, she brings pinecone back to her rock to become her friend. But while pinecone and rock seem to get along famously and are pretty good listeners, Chipmunk still feels a bit left out. Then she finds a log to be her friend, and it won’t budge to come and meet rock and pinecone. Alas, Chipmunk tries and tries to move it, but when she can’t, she sits down and sings the song of her heart.

Lo and behold, Raccoon comes along. Moved by Chipmunk’s music, Raccoon joins in with harmony. Then Moose hears the beautiful song created by Chipmunk and Raccoon and comes to help—the three bring log, pinecone, and rock together to be friends – and, at the same time, become friends themselves to sing their songs together.

A sweet, charming story about friendship, CHIRP! is the perfect book to read to small children. The illustrations are gorgeous, and we especially liked how different colors represented the songs and how those colors represented the singer’s feelings. It helps children understand, on a deeper level, how emotions differ depending on our moods. The story of Chipmunk needing a friend is so relatable. The example of the creatures working hard together to achieve a common goal, and becoming friends along the way, is inspiring. True friendship can find us in surprising ways!

With gorgeous illustrations, the beautiful story of Chirp!: Chipmunk Sings for a Friend is a perfect book for a young elementary-school child.

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About the Author

Jamie A. Swenson is the author of If You Were a Dog, illustrated by Chris Raschka, which HuffPost called “one of the best read-aloud books of the year.” Kirkus Reviews called Big Rig, illustrated by Ned Young, “a friend [readers] won’t soon forget.” Jamie is also the author of the Woof & Quack early reader series, which Kirkus Reviews called “just as much fun” as Elephant & Piggie. She holds an MFA in creative writing for children and young adults from Hamline University, and works as an associate librarian and early literary specialist. She lives in Wisconsin with her family.

Learn more at JamieASwenson.com.

About the Illustrator

Scott Magoon has illustrated many critically-acclaimed picture books, including the New York Times bestselling Rescue & Jessica by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, which also received a Schneider Family Book Award, Straw by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and Misunderstood Shark by Ame Dyckman. He is the author-illustrator of Breathe, which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Read Aloud and a Best Book of the Year by the HuffPost and Chicago Public Library. Scott lives in the Boston area with his wife and two sons.

Visit him online at ScottMagoon.com.

Chirp!: Chipmunk Sings for a Friend was reviewed by Denise Mealy. Discover more books like Chirp!: Chipmunk Sings for a Friend by following our reviews and articles tagged with Self-Awareness and Self-Discovery.