CHOOCH HELPED by Andrea L. Rogers, illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz wins the Caldecott Medal!

Most readers of American Indians in Children's Literature know that the Caldecott Medal is a big deal. 

It and the Newbery Medal are regarded as the most prestigious book awards in children's literature. That means every single library in the country will get a copy. It means visibility in a major way! 

When I heard Rob Bittner say aloud "Chooch Helped" --- well, I felt an incredible jolt of adrenaline. 

Children in schools whose teachers and librarians feature this Caldecott-winning book in lesson plans, read alouds, and library programming will identify with a big sister's many frustrations with a younger sibling, but along the way they will learn the names of a Cherokee author--Andrea L. Rogers--and a Cherokee illustrator--Rebecca Lee Kunz. 

And they will learn some Cherokee words! 

That page says "Elisi painted a mural." Beneath the word elisi is its pronunciation. There's also a glossary in the back. 

Look at the mural. Each page in the book has Cherokee-specific details. Information about them is in the back.

In the author's note, Rogers tells us about Cherokee artists who did murals and large paintings. She tells us their names and what they did. In the illustrator's note, Kunz tells us that the birds are inspired by heron patterns incised on vessels at an archeological site. These are opportunities to dig in and learn more about Cherokee people, culture, and history. 

That's all I got for now. I want to bask in the possibilities radiating from this news! 

Highly Recommended! CHOOCH HELPED by Andrea L. Rogers, illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz

Chooch Helped

by Andrea L. Rogers (citizen of the Cherokee Nation)

illustrated by Rebecca Lee Knuz (citizen of the Cherokee Nation)

Published in 2024

Publisher: Levine Querido

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

Sometimes a story reaches right into your being and makes you laugh, smile, wince, and then it makes you feel loved. That is my experience reading Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers. She's a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Illustrations are by Rebecca Lee Kunz, who is also a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. 

Look at the cover. Kunz's art captures precisely what we see as we begin reading Chooch Helped. The posture of the girl as she peers over her shoulder at the boy watering a plant, spilling water as he does it captures what we see in the first part of the book. His red cape and red boots... how many of us have memories of siblings or cousins who wore things like that?!  How many of us have a younger brother or sister who--even as they grew into toddlerhood--were called "the baby"? Chooch Helped invites us to revisit our own memories and, perhaps, tell our little ones about an auntie or uncle who annoyed us when we were kids. I adore what this story does for me, and can't wait to read it to kids! 

Setting that aside for now, this story does more than touch on memories. In a straightforward way, Rogers introduces us to some Cherokee words. Cherokee families may feel a special delight seeing their language in this book. The rest of us may tell our children words in our own languages as we read Chooch Helped. 

I urge you to get a copy and flip to the back matter. Take a look at those pages before reading the book with kids. You'll find a glossary that tells you how to say the Cherokee words in the story. And, you'll find the Author's Note and the Artist's Note. Rogers and Knuz give us tribally specific information that they've put on each page. To most readers, the page where Chooch helps tune up bicycles is just a page about a kid helping his dad fix bikes but in her note, Rogers gives us more depth. She tells us about the 

Cherokee Nation's Remember the Removal Bike Ride. Here's that portion:

In the Artist's Note, Kunz tells us about Cherokee patterns in baskets and as I studied the illustrations to find it, I spotted (and loved) the green footprints we learn about as we get to the end of the story. That reveal is clever and delightful and oh-so-perfect! I adore this book! 

Get a few copies for friends! If you're a teacher, get one for your classroom, and librarians, get copies for your library system.