Take a family of adorable, three-dimensional chickens-constructed from velvety, cozily domestic terry cloth-add a text made up entirely of words with a giggle-inducing "eep" sound, and the result is this irresistible, inventive paper-over-board book. "Sleep" starts off the first spread, where a chicken family tries to get some shut-eye. A turn of the page shows a "Cheep" coming from the egg below their perch. Making a joint "Leap!" (the smallest chick uses its blankie as a parachute) the peeping protagonists land in a comic "Heap" and eagerly welcome their newest addition. Baicker-McKee (the FussBusters series) gives her absorbent cast minimalist facial features and highly streamlined appendages (the two-color backdrops are equally spare). But she comes up with an amazing array of expressions and comic poses; when the reconstituted family settles down on the perch for a group slumber party, the two smallest downy siblings share a priceless conspiratorial wink and hug. Young children will undoubtedly view the chick family as toys come to life and be thoroughly enchanted. Here's hoping another diphthong inspires a follow-up from this talented team. Ages 2-4. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In this limited-word book, three sleeping chicks (""sleep"") are awoken by the sound of an egg hatching (""cheep""), which they proceed to investigate (""creep""), and so on. The art, featuring distracting motif-filled borders, consists of collages in which the tumble-prone chicks, who have the chemistry of a slapstick-comedy trio, are tiny yellow stuffed-terry-cloth pillows. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

In this take on an elemental topic, the noises from a hatching egg, all alone in a frame on the left, wake three chicks napping on a roost on the facing page. After a bit of confusion, they hop down to welcome the new addition to the family. The frames change from nighttime stars to feathers to little hearts to match the action or mood, but the art is extremely simple while being exactly right. Digitally assembled from puffy terrycloth bodies, googly eyes and the odd feather or two, the chickies are cuteness in action in each scene as they wake up, figure out what's happening and then snuggle up to their hatchling sibling--all to monosyllabic rhymed exclamations: "eep!" "leap!" "heap!" and finally "sleep? sleep / sleep / sleep / sleep." Not exactly cheap, nor deep--but one to keep. (Picture book. 2-4) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS-K-Three chicks are keeping watch over an egg. As time wears on, they fall asleep, only to be awakened by a noise. The sound marks the hatchling's arrival, which throws the chicks into a tizzy. They cheep, they peep, they creep, and they leap into a heap to meet the newest member of their family. After they welcome it, they all fall back to sleep, including the baby. Using one-syllable, easy rhyming words, the story comes alive through the almost 3-D collage art. The illustrator uses terry cloth, a few well-placed feathers, and an eggshell or two to create adorable chicks sure to capture a child's heart. Like the text, the pictures are minimal but together they strike the perfect balance to create a charming picture book for sharing with the very young.-Linda Zeilstra Sawyer, Skokie Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.