  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 12/01/2016 PreS-Gr 2—Through the excellent use of colorful up-close photos, Arnold captures the excitement of hatching chicks in a real kindergarten class. She documents the 21-day journey from incubation to birth, and growth to maturity; the science behind the process; and the delight and wonder of Mrs. Best's diverse group of students. The classroom in which the project occurs will likely be familiar to many readers: projects and artwork adorn the walls, standard school furniture makes up the room, etc. The energy of Mrs. Best's students is palpable, and readers are invited to share in the spectacle and surprise of the first hatched chick. Asides provide additional information on the different parts of an egg, what chicken mash is, and more. A glossary explains unfamiliar terms, such as candling and wattle. Back matter offers further questions for readers to contemplate. VERDICT A first purchase for use as a read-aloud in science curricula on chickens and the life cycle.—Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, formerly at Trinity-Pawling School, Pawling, NY - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 12/01/2016 Readers are in for a treat as they join Mrs. Best and her kindergarten class for their egg-hatching project, aka the most adorable class project ever. Mrs. Best has brought a variety of chicken eggs—brown, white, speckled—from her backyard coop to an incubator in her classroom in order to teach her students about how chicks grow. The informative text is augmented by copious photo illustrations, including a diagram of the different parts of an egg, a demonstration of candling (placing a fertilized egg over a light to see inside it), and eventually the fluffy chicks themselves. The book documents how Mrs. Best’s diverse class counts down the 21 days until the eggs hatch, the hatching process, and the first month of the chicks’ lives, detailing their care and growth, and nesting quick facts in egg-shaped ovals throughout. Readers will come away with a good understanding of chickens’ origins and will likely want to rush off to hatch an egg of their own, but Arnold wisely cautions that chickens do not make good pets. - Copyright 2016 Booklist. Loading...
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