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I received this book for free from Hear Our Voices Book Tours & the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers Illustrator: Rebecca Lee Kunz
Published by Chronicle Books on October 8, 2024
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Cooking & Food, Juvenile Fiction / Family / New Baby, Juvenile Fiction / People & Places / United States / Native American
Pages: 48
Format: Hardcover
Source: Hear Our Voices Book Tours & the publisher
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Goodreads
A Cherokee girl introduces her younger brother to their family's traditions — begrudgingly! — in this picture book written by Walter Award-winner Andrea L. Rogers and featuring gorgeous collage illustrations from debut artist Rebecca Lee Kunz.
Sissy’s younger brother, Chooch, isn’t a baby anymore. They just celebrated his second birthday, after all. But no matter what Chooch does — even if he’s messing something up! Which is basically all the time! — their parents say he’s just “helping.” Sissy feels that Chooch can get away with anything!
When Elisi paints a mural, Chooch helps. When Edutsi makes grape dumplings, Chooch helps. When Oginalii gigs for crawdads, Chooch helps. When Sissy tries to make a clay pot, Chooch helps . . .
“Hesdi!” Sissy yells. Quit it! And Chooch bursts into tears. What follows is a tender family moment that will resonate with anyone who has welcomed a new little one to the fold. Chooch Helped is a universal story of an older sibling learning to make space for a new child, told with grace by Andrea L. Rogers and stunning art from Rebecca Lee Kunz showing one Cherokee family practicing their cultural traditions.
Review: Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers
Welcome to my stop on the Chooch Helped book tour hosted by @hearourvoicestours ! I first heard the Cherokee word for boy, chooch, when I was reading Andrea L. Rogers first book, Man Made Monsters. Chooch Helped is a beautiful book about sibling relationships.
Sissy faces the common frustration of having a “helpful” younger sibling. Often what others call help, she might call making a mess that she has to clean up. It can be tough being an older sibling of a toddler! The story is told from Sissy’s perspective.
Things come to a head when Sissy gets mad with Chooch after he ruins the clay pot she is making. She yells, her parents yell and everyone gets upset. But then everyone calms down and Sissy gives Chooch a second chance.
Illustrations
I love the illustrations in Chooch Helped. The earthenware color palette that uses water colors and pencil reminded me of clay pottery and art. There are Cherokee symbols throughout the pages. I really appreciated the diversity in the depiction of the family as well.
Learn Cherokee Words
You will learn several Cherokee words for family members as you read the book. The phonetic pronunciations are beneath each Cherokee word to help you as you read them aloud. There is also a glossary in the back that shows the Cherokee Syllabary, meanings of the words.
The audiobook comes out December 3, 2024. I’m excited to listen to it to practice my pronunciations of the words.
So Much to Learn
There are so many takeaways from this book! You will learn Cherokee words, the importance of family, culture and iconography important to the Cherokee. As each family member is mentioned, they are doing something important and connected to Cherokee culture. The Author’s Note has a lot of information that will motivate inquisitive minds to do research and learn more.
There are also instructions on how to make a pinch pot that adults and kids will both enjoy.
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