The energetic, comical illustrations, in Boynton’s signature style, will elicit giggles and go far to make the book’s important point.

This riotous book hits all the right notes and does so succinctly and hilariously. So forgive yourself, chickens! But the best thing is…instead of relying on someone else-like a chicken-to strengthen your ego, say a generous daily “WOO HOO!” to yourself. That alone is a pep talk, enhanced by the wisdom that making mistakes allows everyone to learn and demonstrate they did their best. But what if your cheerful chick errs and doesn’t do what it set out to do? Don’t worry-your cheery chicken just needs a reminder that everyone makes mistakes. Your feathered champion will be right there, encouraging you all the way, with a loud “WOO HOO!” that’ll keep you going and remove any doubt you’re super terrific.

What’s better than a cheerleading chicken?Īre you ever blue, unsure, tired, or overworked? Do you ever feel lost or overwhelmed? This uplifting book, expressed in delightful, jaunty verse, explains how to lift your spirits pronto: What you need is a booster chicken telling you’re doing great even when you’re not so confident, as when you’re learning or practicing a new skill, for instance. Perhaps these closing scenes anticipate more stories to come about these friends, since, as Boy and Bot would say, it’s “affirmative” that this book will be a hit. Throughout, Yaccarino’s stylized gouache paintings heighten the text’s humor, but their greatest contributions come in the final, nearly wordless spreads depicting the two wide-awake friends’ happy, ongoing companionship. He wonders if putting a new battery into Boy will solve the problem, but an inventor suddenly appears and shouts, “Stop! That is a boy!” The shouting awakens Boy, and then the inventor drives him home. With pleasing parallel structure, Bot brings Boy home and tries to revive him with oil and by reading aloud an instruction manual. While Boy is asleep that night, Bot’s power switch gets bumped again, and he thinks there’s something wrong with Boy. Instead of realizing the problem, Boy thinks something is wrong with his new friend, so he brings him home and unsuccessfully tries to rouse Bot with applesauce and books. Dyckman’s debut offers pitch-perfect pacing and gentle humor in a sweet story about a friendship that prevails over confusion.īoy and Bot immediately hit it off and play together until Bot’s power switch gets bumped.

Boy and Bot by Ame Dyckman