CHOOCH HELPED: Piling On with the Praise

LEVINE QUERIDO, 2024

This recommendation will be brief but utterly sincere. CHOOCH HELPED, written  by Andrea L. Rogers and illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz, is not only the 2025 Caldecott Medal Winner, it has been praised by the most noted reviewers, including stars from KIRKUS, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, HORN BOOK, and a feature interview on NPR. 

It's pretty obvious that this book has no need for my support, and yet it is just too darn good to ignore. It offers so many things that matter, perhaps even more in our current social climate than ever. The universal quality of the story confirms it will become a modern classic: 

Older sister Sissy finds two-year-old brother Chooch to be unfairly indulged, especially when his well-intentioned helping inevitably makes things worse. 

When writers decide to tell a story, they are urged to look for something original. Once again, this is obviously NOT the first time that an annoying sibling story has made it onto the pages of a picture book. But the things that elevate this version of that familiar relationship are unique, organically incorporated, resonant with anyone and everyone, opening a door to a culture that reflects an age-old story within the little-told context of contemporary Cherokee life. It serves those for whom this is unfamiliar as well s those whose lives are so rarely presented  in the broader culture. 

 

From opening end pages to closing, within each and every integrated detail (dress ribbons, color choices, butterfly-bird-flower images, and daily tasks within scenes, the simplicity and specificity reveal so much about their lives, and our own. Throughout the text various Cherokee words are used (with subtext-pronunciation) allow readers to proceed smoothly through the story. 

Within that immersive experience, the richest moments, to me, involved Sissy yelling at Chooch, then having her parents yell at her that yelling was wrong! Wow, that's a universal experience. The resolves, between parents and Sissy, between Sissy and Chooch, are heartwarming and realistic. In fact, it's a fine mentor text for anyone hoping to take a universal story and make it distinctive and original. Memorable. Valuable over time. Priceless.

Back matter provides a page of simple directions for making an air-dried pinch pot, a page of glossary and Cherokee Syllabary examples, both author note and artist note, and page design backgrounds throughout that could become a case study for Cherokee art, symbols, and history. 

I said this would be brief. Not so much,  it seems. I also said it is sincere, and it is, utterly. My praise for this book is without limits, indeed. I hope that you'll check it out, share it, spend time with it, and talk about it with others.